Punica Granatum: a Review on Pharmacological and Therapeutic Properties

A wide range of medicinal plant parts is used as raw drugs and they possess varied medicinal properties. The different parts used as raw drugs include root, stem, flower, fruit, twigs exudates and modified plant organs. The Punica granatum is a native shrub of occidental Asia and Mediterranean Europe that has a rich history of traditional use in medicine. For centuries, the barks, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds of this plant have been used to treat various diseases. The aim of this present review is to throw light on the therapeutic utility of various parts of pomegranate. INTRODUCTION: Punica granutam is popularly known as pomegranate (Anar). It is a member of Punicaceae family, which is a large deciduous shrub or small tree native to Asia 1, . Punica granutam have been used in folk medicine for centuries in the Middle East, India, and China, and it has been used to treat ailments ranging from inflammation and rheumatism to the pain of a simple sore throat. The most famous usage worldwide has been as a vermifugal or taenicidal agent 3, 4 i.e., a killer and expeller of intestinal worms. The pericarp is used by Chinese and South Africans for the treatment of diarrhea, metrorrhagia, metrostaxia, and bellyachea. In Unani medicine its flower is used as a food supplement to treat diabetes mellitus. Different part of pomegranate like bark, leaves, immature fruits, and fruit rind have some medicinal significance. According to Satomi et al., the pericarps of Punica granutam contains seven highly active inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase (CA) i.e., punicalin, punicalagin, granatin B, gallagyldilactone, punicalagin, pedunculagin and tellimagrandin. The four weakly active inhibitors, gallic acid, granatin A, corilagin and ellagic acid, are known to exhibit antimicrobial, antifungal, antimutagenic activity, (Punicaceae) and are term as ellagitannins. The type of inhibition by punicalin and punicalagin against pnitrophenyl acetate as a substrate is found to be noncompetitive . Other traditional uses of these materials have included treatments for snakebite , diabetes , burns 8 and leprosy . The fresh fruit itself has been used as a refrigerant to lower fever .