In vitro and in vivo laboratory data show that pomegranate juice consistently inhibits intestinal CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 enzymes. Pomegranate juice may therefore increase the bioavailability of drugs that are metabolized by these enzymes. However, studies in humans find that pomegranate juice does not increase exposure to either CYP2C9 or CYP3A4 substrates. These contradictory findings suggest that ...

Pomegranate has two types of flowers on the same plant: functional male flowers (FMF) and bisexual flowers (BF). BF are female-fertile flowers that can set fruits. FMF are female-sterile flowers that fail to set fruit and that eventually drop. The putative cause of pomegranate FMF female sterility is abnormal ovule development. However, the key stage at which the FMF pomegranate ovules become a...

Colon cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related death in the Western world. Although cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents are available to treat the disease, these agents become ineffective as the disease advances to an invasive state. An alternative but viable approach to reduce the incidence of this deadly disease is then, to increase the dietary intake of relatively non-toxic fruits a...

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of retrieving polyphenolic antioxidants directly from wet pomegranate marcs: the fresh by-products obtained after pomegranate juice processing. These by-products mainly consist of internal membranes (endocarp) and aril residues. Even if they are still edible, they are usually discharged during juice production and, thus, they represent a gr...

Pomegranate is a valuable crop that is grown commercially in many parts of the world. Wild species have been reported from India, Turkmenistan and Socotra. Pomegranate fruit has a variety of health-beneficial qualities. However, despite this crop's importance, only moderate effort has been invested in studying its biochemical or physiological properties or in establishing genomic and genetic in...

This randomized, double-blind, parallel trial assessed the influence of pomegranate juice consumption on anterior and posterior carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) progression rates in subjects at moderate risk for coronary heart disease. Subjects were men (45 to 74 years old) and women (55 to 74 years old) with > or =1 major coronary heart disease risk factor and baseline posterior wall CIMT...

Pomegranate, a small tree with potential human health benefits, is grown mainly in Iran, India and USA as well as in most Near and Far East countries. It has been used extensively in folk medicine for a number of therapeutic purposes. In the present study, the ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP) was employed and the FRAP value of the seed fraction of six different cultivars of pomegr...

Patients and methods A 26 year old female patient developed erythema, swelling of the ears and pruritus within 10 min after ingestion of pomegranate. She is allergic to birch pollen and apple. Prick and IgE tests revealed a positive reaction to mites, tree and grass pollen, ambrosia, mugwort and apple. Scratch test was positive for pomegranate, the seeds showing a stronger reaction than the jui...