Pomegranate (Punica granatum), is a fruit originating from Iran and now cultivated in many countries around the Mediterranean Sea. It used to be cooked as juice though this role is now way past. We can find it sold for consumption as a fruit by now, and indeed, it’s really fresh and amazingly accomodate life at the warmest part of the day. But wait, I didn’t track back to the few papers about domestication yet, that I was already swamped into an incredibly huge amount of litterature dealing with its potential other economical uses as pharmaceutical. You won’t believe it!
Here is a quick list, titles speak for themselves…
- Pomegranate peel extract prevents liver fibrosis in biliary-obstructed rats
(H.Z. Toklu et al, 2007, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 59(9): 1287-1295)
- Pomegranate derived products for cancer chemoprevention
(D.N. Syed et al, 2007, Seminars in Cancer Biology 17(5): 377-385)
- Effect of pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice intake on hepatic oxidative stress
(A. Faria et al, 2007, European Journal of Nutrition 46(5): 271-278)
- Antioxidant, antimalarial and antimicrobial activities of tannin-rich fractions, ellagitannins and phenolic acids from Punica granatum L.
(M.K. Reddy et al, 2007, Planta Medica 73(5): 461-467)
- Cytoprotective effect of preparations from various parts of Punica granatum L. fruits in oxidatively injured mammalian cells in comparison with their antioxidant capacity in cell free systems
(P. Sestili et al, 2007, Pharmacological Research 56(1): 18-26)
- Pomegranate flower: A unique traditional antidiabetic medicine with dual PPAR-α/-γ activator properties
(Y. Li et al, 2008, Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 10(1): 10-17)
- Effects of pomegranate juice consumption on sperm quality, spermatogenic cell density, antioxidant activity and testosterone level in male rats
(G Türk et al, 2008, Clinical Nutrition 27(2): 289-296)
Efficacy and safety of pomegranate juice on improvement of erectile dysfunction in male patients with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study
(C.P. Forest et al, 2007, International Journal of Impotence Research 19(6): 564-567)
- Punica granatum (pomegranate) extract is active against dental plaque
(S.M.S. Menezes et al, 2006, Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy 6(2): 79-92)
So… I think it’s time for a new game: do you know of any plant species that could do better for humanity? :-)
Filed under: Domestication, English, Food, Fruits, Plant stuff, Shameless Promotion
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It is a reality that wines produced basically of herbs are the best in the market. Herbs in particular have a lot of medicinal value and are being used world over to conveniently handdle health problems. They are also very good for body build-up. What a great gift from God.
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation :) Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Regicidal
Well, the number of things this plant can do is not only somewhat high, it is also rather diverse… It’s not like, say, a basic antimicrobial activity (where you can have diverse efficiency but I don’t place diversity at the same level here). This is, in my opinion, an interesting point.
But… Many plants, as soon as you begin to look for potential cures and the likes, also do have some potential. I nevertheless wonder if that many plants can have such diverse potential effects. Now, we would have to define a metric and investigate this further, I’m just calling for such a game… :-)
[...] uses (at least in traditionnal ways). I won’t make up a listing just like I did with pomegranate, but these are strikingly diverse too… Two of them were really interesting and retained my [...]
[...] Aside suggests that the pomegranate (Punica granatum) might be the Best fruit ever – you should see the list of why this is so. Mark Schauss of Toxic World Blog – Detoxify and Heal [...]
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