Login or Register

The Intestinal Benefits of Pomegranate Juice

Sep 9, 2010 | By Shelley Moore

Punica granatum, better known as pomegranate, is a small tree that produces tasty red fruit. Pomegranate juice has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and laboratory studies indicate it inhibits the progression of prostate and breast cancer, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Pomegranate also appears to provide benefit to some patients with intestinal disorders. Consult with a qualified health care provider before using pomegranate juice to treat intestinal problems.

Antitoxin Effects

A study published in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of Medicinal Food found one potential reason for the anticancer effects of pomegranate juice. Some components of pomegranate juice, punicalagin in particular, seem to impair the intestinal function of a process called sulfoconjugation. Sulfoconjugation can activate certain chemical carcinogens and mutagens, explains a study published in the Feb. 20, 1998 issue of Chemico-Biological Interactions. Pomegranate juice would then prevent the activation of these substances by inhibiting sulfoconjugation. In contrast, pomegranate juice did not inhibit an intestinal process called glucuronidation during the Journal of Medicinal Food Study. This is also beneficial because glucuronidation removes several toxic and potentially toxic chemicals.

Anticancer Effects

The Journal of Medicinal Food study indicated that components of pomegranate juice have anticancer effects against colon cancer cells in the laboratory. Another laboratory study, which appeared in the Feb. 24, 2010 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that components of pomegranate juice called ellagitannins, along with their intestinal bacterial metabolites, urolithins, showed effectiveness against colon cancer cells. The compounds reduced cell proliferation and clonogenic processes, or the ability of cells to produce a clone of cells. The pomegranate compounds also induced apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in colon cancer cells. The authors noted that consuming large amounts of pomegranate juice might diminish the risk of colon cancer development.

Antipathogen Effects

Chemical compounds in the large intestines that result from consuming pomegranate products interact with complex microflora there, explains another study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, this one published in the Sept. 23, 2009 issue. In the laboratory, pomegranate components, including punicalagins, inhibited the growth of the pathogens Staphyloccocus aureus and clostridia, but generally did not affect the beneficial, or probiotic, microorganisms lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. Supplementing with the pomegranate extract POMx significantly increased the growth of the probiotic substances Bifidobacterium breve and Bifidobacterium infantis.

References

Article reviewed by Bryn Bellamy Last updated on: Sep 9, 2010

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments