Punica granatum (pomegranate) and its potential for prevention and treatment of inflammation and cancer
Journal of Ethnopharmacology 109 (2007) 177–206
Review
Ephraim P. Lansky a,∗, Robert A. Newmana,b a Punisyn Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., P.O.B. 9945, Haifa, Israel b Department of Experimental Therapeutics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
Available online 10 September 2006

Abstract
The last 7 years have seen over seven times as many publications indexed by Medline dealing with pomegranate and Punica granatum than in
all the years preceding them. Because of this, and the virtual explosion of interest in pomegranate as a medicinal and nutritional product that has
followed, this review is accordingly launched. The pomegranate tree, Punica granatum, especially its fruit, possesses a vast ethnomedical history
and represents a phytochemical reservoir of heuristic medicinal value. The tree/fruit can be divided into several anatomical compartments: (1) seed,
(2) juice, (3) peel, (4) leaf, (5) flower, (6) bark, and (7) roots, each of which has interesting pharmacologic activity. Juice and peels, for example,
possess potent antioxidant properties, while juice, peel and oil are all weakly estrogenic and heuristically of interest for the treatment of menopausal
symptoms and sequellae. The use of juice, peel and oil have also been shown to possess anticancer activities, including interference with tumor
cell proliferation, cell cycle, invasion and angiogenesis. These may be associated with plant based anti-inflammatory effects, The phytochemistry
and pharmacological actions of all Punica granatum components suggest a wide range of clinical applications for the treatment and prevention of
cancer, as well as other diseases where chronic inflammation is believed to play an essential etiologic role.
© 2006 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
Keywords: Punica granatum; Cancer; Eicosanoid; Inflammation; Pomegranate