Pomegranate as a HIV Inhibitor

Punica granatum (Pomegranate) juice provides an HIV-1 entry inhibitor and candidate topical microbicide A Robert Neurath, Nathan Strick, Yun-Yao Li and Asim K Debnath

Abstract Background: For ≈ 24 years the AIDS pandemic has claimed ≈ 30 million lives, causing ≈ 14,000 new HIV-1 infections daily worldwide in 2003. About 80% of infections occur by heterosexual transmission. In the absence of vaccines, topical microbicides, expected to block virus transmission, offer hope for controlling the pandemic. Antiretroviral chemotherapeutics have decreased AIDS mortality in industrialized countries, but only minimally in developing countries. To prevent an analogous dichotomy, microbicides should be: acceptable; accessible; affordable; and accelerative in transition from development to marketing. Already marketed pharmaceutical excipients or foods, with established safety records and adequate anti-HIV-1 activity, may provide this option.

Methods: Fruit juices were screened for inhibitory activity against HIV-1 IIIB using CD4 and CXCR4 as cell receptors. The best juice was tested for inhibition of: (1) infection by HIV-1 BaL, utilizing CCR5 as the cellular coreceptor; and (2) binding of gp120 IIIB and gp120 BaL, respectively, to CXCR4 and CCR5. To remove most colored juice components, the adsorption of the effective ingredient(s) to dispersible excipients and other foods was investigated. A selected complex was assayed for inhibition of infection by primary HIV-1 isolates.

Results: HIV-1 entry inhibitors from pomegranate juice adsorb onto corn starch. The resulting complex blocks virus binding to CD4 and CXCR4/CCR5 and inhibits infection by primary virus clades A to G and group O

Conclusion: These results suggest the possibility of producing an anti-HIV-1 microbicide from inexpensive, widely available sources, whose safety has been established throughout centuries, provided that its quality is adequately standardized and monitored.

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Pomegranate for Libido

A daily glass of Pomegranate juice is as potent as Viagra

Asian News International - Text

Last Updated: December 03, 2007 00:19:02

London, Nov 30 (ANI): Men who want to boost their performance in the bedroom should drink pomegranate juice, says a new research.

According to the University of California scientists, a daily glass can act like Viagra.

Lead author Dr Christopher Forest says that the juice is rich in antioxidants, which increases blood supply to the genitals.

For the study, the team tested 53 men with impotence problems.

They found that nearly half the men who drank it for a month said they found it easier to perform.

"Pomegranate juice has great potential," the Mirror quoted Dr Forest, as saying.

Pomegranates have already been associated with reducing the risk of heart disease and preventing prostate cancer.

Boffins had previously asserted that a daily 8oz glass of the fruit's juice not only increases the stability period of prostate cancer four-fold, but that the effect is so marked that they believe it can also make it possible for men between the ages of 60 to 75 to live out a full life span without the need for medical treatment, rather than dying from the cancer.

That study was conducted by researchers from the University of California who looked at 50 prostate cancer patients who had surgery or radiotherapy, who had experienced a post-treatment increase of PSA (prostate specific antigen), indicating that cancer was still present in their bodies.

During the study, the researchers measured the men's PSA levels to calculate how long they took to double.

They found that men suffering from prostate cancer with short doubling times are more likely to die from their illness, and that the average doubling time is 15 months.

They noted that consuming a glass of pomegranate juice everyday extended the doubling period to 54 months, and that there was also evidence that the juice was actually killing off prostate cancer cells.

Dr Allan Pantuck, who led the study, said that the improvements had been surprising, and that though it was not a cure, boffins may now be able to stump prostate cancer growth.

"I was surprised when I saw such an improvement. This is not a cure, but we may be able to change the way that prostate cancer grows," the Mirror quoted him, as saying. (ANI)

© Copyright 2007 Asian News International.

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Pomegranate for Diarrhea

Natural Cures: How to Treat Diarrhea with Pomegranate Peels

By Laura Lond, published Sep 21, 2007

Pomegranate still remains an exotic fruit for most people. When it is occasionally sold at our grocery store, I hardly ever see anyone buying, and if I pick up one or two of those reddish leathery spheres I am usually asked questions. People do not know how to eat pomegranate or even how to peel it. At best, they have heard of pomegranate juice and are aware that it is healthy.

I have checked articles on pomegranate here at Associated Content; there are many of them, covering many aspects from the fruit's origins and medicinal uses to pomegranate bath & body products. A couple of articles mention that pomegranate has been used to treat diarrhea, but none provide any info on how to do that.

I happen to know the recipe. It has been successfully used in our family for years. In fact, it is pomegranate peels, not the fruit itself, which have constipating effect.

Peel a pomegranate and save the peels. Cut them into small (about the size of a nickel) pieces and lay out in the sun to dry. The peels are ready when they become hard and easily breakable. They can be stored in a tea box or glass jar.

When the need arises to use the pomegranate peels' constipating effect, take 4-5 of those dry pieces, place them into a cup, and add boiling water. Cover the cup and wait until the drink cools off (pleasantly warm is the right temperature). I would not say it tastes great, but it is drinkable. If you are used to herbal teas, you should not have any problem with this remedy.

Drink a half of the cup; it does not matter whether you do it in the morning or in the evening, before or after a meal. In some cases, just one serving is enough, so wait and see how it goes for you. If the desired result is not achieved, drink the other half of the cup in a few hours (say, after your next meal). Severe cases of diarrhea might require taking this remedy for several days.

Pomegranate peels work both for people and animals. I had once picked up a kitten with a bad case of diarrhea, and I treated him with these. Of course, he wouldn't drink the stuff on his own, so I had to make him swallow some, drop by drop. After three days the kitten was fine.

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Pomegranate for Leukemia

Journal of Medicinal Food

Differentiation-Promoting Activity of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Fruit Extracts in HL-60 Human Promyelocytic Leukemia Cells

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To cite this paper:
Satoru Kawaii, Ephraim P. Lansky. Journal of Medicinal Food. April 1, 2004, 7(1): 13-18. doi:10.1089/109662004322984644.

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Satoru Kawaii

Laboratory of Bio-Organic Chemistry, Tokyo Denki University, Saitama, Japan

Ephraim P. Lansky

Rimonest Ltd., Haifa, Israel

Differentiation refers to the ability of cancer cells to revert to their normal counterparts, and its induction represents an important noncytotoxic therapy for leukemia, and also breast, prostate, and other solid malignancies. Flavonoids are a group of differentiation-inducing chemicals with a potentially lower toxicology profile than retinoids. Flavonoid-rich polyphenol fractions from the pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruit exert anti-proliferative, anti-invasive, anti-eicosanoid, and pro-apoptotic actions in breast and prostate cancer cells and anti-angiogenic activities in vitro and in vivo. Here we tested flavonoid-rich fractions from fresh (J) and fermented (W) pomegranate juice and from an aqueous extraction of pomegranate pericarps (P) as potential differentiation-promoting agents of human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. Four assays were used to assess differentiation: nitro blue tetrazolium reducing activity, nonspecific esterase activity, specific esterase activity, and phagocytic activity. In addition, the effect of these extracts on HL-60 proliferation was evaluated. Extracts W and P were strong promoters of differentiation in all settings, with extract J showing only a relatively mild differentiation-promoting effect. The extracts had proportional inhibitory effects on HL-60 cell proliferation. The results highlight an important, previously unknown, mechanism of the cancer preventive and suppressive potential of pomegranate fermented juice and pericarp extracts.

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Pomegranate for pregnant mothers

Pomegranate juice for pregnant mothers may help babies resist brain injury

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 29 Jun 2005 - 0:00 PDT

Expectant mothers at risk of premature birth may want to consider drinking pomegranate juice to help their babies resist brain injuries from low oxygen and reduced blood flow, a new mouse study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests.

In humans, decreased blood flow and oxygen to the infant brain is linked to premature birth and other irregularities during pregnancy, birth and early development. The phenomenon, which is called hypoxia ischemia, causes brain injury in approximately 2 of every 1,000 full-term human births and in a very high percentage of babies born before 34 weeks of gestation. Hypoxic ischemic brain injury can lead to seizures, a degenerative condition known as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and mobility impairments including cerebral palsy.

When scientists temporarily lowered brain oxygen levels and brain blood flow in newborn mice whose mothers drank water mixed with pomegranate concentrate, their brain tissue loss was reduced by 60 percent in comparison to mice whose mothers drank sugar water or other fluids.

"Hypoxic ischemic brain injury in newborns is very difficult to treat, and right now there's very little we can do to stop or reverse its consequences," explains senior author David Holtzman, M.D., the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology. "Most of our efforts focus on stopping it when it happens, but if we could treat everyone who's at risk preventively, we may be able to reduce the impacts of these kinds of injuries."

Holtzman's lab has been studying neonatal brain injury for more than a decade by temporarily reducing oxygen levels and blood flow in the brains of 7-day-old mouse and rat pups. The model produces brain injuries similar to those seen in human infants injured by hypoxia ischemia.

Pomegranates contain very high concentrations of polyphenols, substances also found in grapes, red wine, and berries that scientists have linked to potential neuroprotective and anti-aging effects.

Scientists gave pregnant female mice water with pomegranate juice, plain water, sugar water or vitamin C water to drink during the last third of pregnancy and while they suckled their pups for seven days after birth.

After performing the procedures that exposed mouse pups to low oxygen levels, scientists examined the brains, comparing damage to the cortex, hippocampus and the striatum. Researchers who conducted the examinations were unaware of what the pup's mother drank. Mice whose mothers drank pomegranate juice had brain injuries less than half the size of those found in other mice.

Much of the damage from hypoxia ischemia results when oxygen-starved brain cells self-destruct via a process known as apoptosis. Scientists found an enzyme linked to apoptosis, caspase-3, was 84 percent less active in mice whose mothers drank pomegranate juice.

Holtzman says the results suggest the need for studies of pomegranate juice's effects in humans, but he cautions that because of the relative unpredictability of hypoxia ischemia in newborns, it would be difficult to assemble a sufficiently large study group.

Hypoxic ischemic brain damage is frequently associated with premature delivery. The lungs, brain and circulatory systems in some premature babies are insufficiently mature to supply the brain with enough nutrients and oxygen outside the womb. Scientists know some of the factors that increase risk of premature birth, including diabetes, low economic status, youthful mothers, weakness in the cervix and a personal or familial history of miscarriage.

"One might advise this group that studies in animals have suggested drinking pomegranate juice may reduce the risk of injury from hypoxia ischemia," he says.

Holtzman's findings and other research into the potentially beneficial effects of pomegranate juice, red wine, and other natural foods form a neurological parallel to chemoprevention, an area of oncology research focused on finding naturally-occurring substances in foods that reduce the chances of developing cancer.

"For pregnant women previously interested in the neuroprotective effects of red wine, these results suggest that pomegranate juice may provide an alternative during pregnancy, when alcohol consumption is unacceptable because it increases risk of birth defects," Holtzman says.

Holtzman's group is attempting to isolate the neuroprotective ingredients in pomegranate juice as a possible prelude to concentrating those ingredients and testing their ability to reduce brain injury. They also plan to investigate the possibility that polyphenols from pomegranates and other natural foods can slow other neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease.

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Pomegranate for Breast Cancer

Pomegranate Seed Oil Causes Breast Cancer Cells to Self-Destruct
August 21, 2001
Contact: Adar Novak (212) 307-2519

On the heels of the discovery by Israeli researchers that pomegranate juice has antioxidant properties, another Israeli team has found that the fruit could have important implications for breast cancer treatment and estrogen replacement therapy.

HAIFA, ISRAEL and NEW YORK, N.Y., August 21, 2001 – On the heels of the discovery by Israeli researchers that pomegranate juice has antioxidant properties, another Israeli team has found that the fruit could have important implications for breast cancer treatment and estrogen replacement therapy.

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology research team presented two studies at an international conference in June indicating that pomegranate seed oil triggers apoptosis -- a self-destruct mechanism in breast cancer cells. Furthermore, pomegranate juice can be toxic to most estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells, while leaving normal breast cells largely unaffected. Estrogen is a hormone often prescribed to protect postmenopausal women against heart disease and osteoporosis.

In the first study, laboratory-grown breast cancer cells were treated for three days with pomegranate seed oil. The researchers observed apoptosis in 37 to 56 percent of the cancer cells, depending upon the dose of oil applied.

In the second study, both normal and cancerous breast cells were exposed to fermented pomegranate juice (pomegranate wine) and pomegranate peel extracts, which contain polyphenols (powerful antioxidants). The vast majority of the normal cells remained unaffected by the two pomegranate derivatives. But more than 75 percent of the estrogen-dependent cancer cells, and approximately half of the non-estrogen dependent cancer cells were destroyed by exposure to these same pomegranate products.

"Pomegranates are unique in that the hormonal combinations inherent in the fruit seem to be helpful both for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer," explains Dr. Ephraim Lansky, who headed the studies. "Pomegranates seem to replace needed estrogen often prescribed to protect postmenopausal women against heart disease and osteoporosis, while selectively destroying estrogen-dependent cancer cells."

Dr. Martin Goldman, a New York-based board certified internist and life medicine specialist, notes, "This is apparently a safe substance that could be helpful to many people, especially women at high-risk for developing breast cancer."

Dr. Lajos Pusztai, an assistant professor who studies breast cancer at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, says Dr. Lansky's study "provides a potential new avenue to develop anti-cancer drugs from a natural compound."

Technion researchers have tested other health benefits of the pomegranate. In 1999, they were among the first to publish research showing the antioxidant potency of pomegranates. A later Technion study found that the daily consumption of pomegranate juice dramatically lowered oxidation of LDL cholesterol, leading to the elimination of plaques in coronary arteries.

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is Israel's leading scientific and technological center for applied research and education. It commands a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in computer science, biotechnology, water-resource management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine. The majority of the founders and managers of Israel's high-tech companies are Technion graduates. The Technion's 19 faculties and 30 research centers and institutes in Haifa are home to 13,000 students and 700 faculty members.

Based in New York City, the American Technion Society (ATS) is the leading American organization supporting higher education in Israel. The ATS has raised more than $850 million since its inception in 1940, more than half of that during the last eight years. A nationwide membership organization with more than 20,000 supporters and 17 offices around the country, the ATS is driven by the belief that the economic future of Israel is in high technology and the future of high technology in Israel is at the Technion. Technion societies are located in 24 countries around the world.

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Pomegranate for Heart Disease

Pomegranate Juice Fights Heart Disease, Study Says

Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News

March 22, 2005

In the mythology of ancient Babylonia, pomegranate was considered an agent of resurrection. Now there is scientific evidence for the fruit's restorative powers.

According to a new study, antioxidants contained in pomegranate juice may help reduce the formation of fatty deposits on artery walls. Antioxidants are compounds that limit cell damage.

Scientists have tested the juice in mice and found that it combats hardening of the arteries (atherogenesis) and related diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes.

"In this experimental study, we have established that polyphenols [antioxidant chemicals] and other natural compounds contained in the pomegranate juice may retard atherogenesis," said Claudio Napoli, a professor of medicine and clinical pathology at the University of Naples, Italy.

The research is published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Legendary Powers

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is native to a region ranging from Iran to the Himalaya. It later spread to the Mediterranean area and now grows in most of the United States.

The apple-size fruit, which grows on rounded plants 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 meters) tall, contains a sack of seeds and a juicy pulp.

In ancient Greece pomegranate was known as the fruit of the dead. In Hebrew tradition pomegranates adorned the vestments of the high priest. Ancient Persians believed that pomegranate seeds made their warriors invincible. In China the fruit symbolized longevity.

Scientists have long known about health benefits of pomegranates. The latest study, in particular, shows that the juice limits the genetic tendency toward hardening of the arteries.

"The protective effects of pomegranate juice were higher than previously assumed," Napoli said.

The study was done at the University of Naples, Italy, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

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