Pomegranate - Cancer Preventing Agent

Pomegranate as a Cancer Preventing Agent

The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit in the family of Lythraceae that grows as a small tree, typically can be seen from September to February in the Northern Hemisphere and from March to May in the Southern Hemisphere. In modern day, pomegranate cultivating area is extending from Iran to Northern India and in the Mediterranean region, pomegranate has been cultivated since ancient times. It has become more common in the 20^th and 21^st centuries in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.

The cancer is a term for a disease in which an abnormal cell growth and division of those cells without any control and invade normal tissues nearby. Those cancer cells can spread to the other parts of the body through the blood flow or through the lymphatic system. A tumor is a cluster of such abnormal cells. There are mainly two types of tumors such as benign tumors and malignant tumors. Benign tumors are not spreading through the body and malignant tumors are continuously spreading throughout the body and invading other healthy organs.

In the present days, we can see a lot of food products made from pomegranate, For examples, various kinds of juices, squash, beverage, molasses, juice concentrates, frozen seeds, jam, jelly, marmalades, grenadine, wine, seeds in syrup, pomegranate spirits, and as well as  pomegranate powder. Variety of products developed due to the high nutritive value of the pomegranate. Within an average pomegranate fruit, it contains 7 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein, 30% of recommended daily vitamin C allowance (RDA), 36% RDA of vitamin K, 16% RDA of folate and high amount of potassium which compensate 12% of the daily allowance.   

Antioxidants are a group of substances which have the potential to fight against cancers. Those antioxidants can reduce the oxidative stress and reduce the genetic mutations in the cells. According to some researches done, it has been shown that pomegranate has a characteristic of decreasing the hepatic oxidative stress. All the fruits contain a high amount of antioxidants and, pomegranate is special because the amount of antioxidants present is significantly greater than even in red wine and green tea antioxidants. There are several groups of substances such as anthocyanins, gallotannins, ellagitannins, gallagyl esters, Ellagitannins, punicalagin hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids and dihydroflavonol, which have the ability to act as antioxidants, are present in pomegranate in high concentrations. Ellagitanins and punicalagins are capable of reducing prostate cancer cells and colon cancer cells.

As we all know, environmental pollution is emerging day by day due to various actions of humans. Industrial wastes, agrochemicals, toxic gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂), heavy metals are some of the major pollutants that can penetrate into the humans through the food chains. Phase-1 enzymes are the constituents that play a major role in the oxidation of drugs, endogenous compounds, dietary chemicals, environmental pollutants and have the potential to increase the carcinogenic effects in the body. Pomegranate juice is effective in inhibiting the CYP activity thus ensure the protection by halting the cancer tumor initiation.

Degradation of the ozone layer is another emerging danger for the living beings on earth because of the environment pollution. These days, skin cancers, as known as melanomas are increasing rapidly due to high radiation of UVA and UVB. High radiation causes free radical generation in human skin and have the potential to initiate skin cancers. Ellagitannins in pomegranate is capable of inhibiting free radical generation in human skin and as a result, it automatically protects the skin from burns and DNA fragmentation. Thus the melanogenesis or the skin cancers can be prevented by the consumption of pomegranate juice. Not only that, studies have shown that it also has the ability to induce the initiation of breast cancer cells in human by inhibiting cell proliferation.

Pomegranate can reduce the cancer development by some indirect ways also. Pomegranate is rich in anthocyanidins such as delphinidin-3, 5-diglucoside, cyanidins, and pelargonidins and majorly delphinidins being one of the major causative compounds contributes to the free radical scavenging and H₂O₂ induced lipid oxidation protection. As the research studies show, pomegranate juice shows inhibitory effects on LDL lipid oxidation, LDL retention and LDL aggregation which co-work in atherosclerosis. LDL oxidation and aggregation can cause liver inflammation and high lipid accumulations can increase the risk of getting non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Obesity can increase the risk of the development of cancers, and liver inflammations also have the potential of developing hepatic cancers. Some research studies showed that the intake of pomegranate juice resulted in a significant increase of serum hepatocyte paraoxonase, which associated with HDL that protects both LDL and HDL being oxidized and thereby reducing the risk of development of atherosclerosis and liver inflammations. 

Ultimately, it is clear as crystals that this wonderful fruit is highly capable of uplifting human health and by consuming pomegranate, can immense a number of health properties.