Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pomegranate: Aspects Concerning Dynamics of Health Beneficial Phytochemicals and Therapeutic Properties with Respect to the Tree Cultivar and the Environment

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the Middle-East

Part of the book series: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World ((MAPW,volume 2))

Abstract

The pomegranate was recognized as an important fruit very early in human history dating back thousands of years ago. Since ancient times, pomegranate culture was developed along with human communities all over the world. Pomegranate provides tasty, healthy and aesthetic fruit and its importance in human diet is fully appreciated in recent years. The health promoting properties of pomegranate flowers, fruits and sprouting seedlings are now being extensively studied in many laboratories around the world revealing a wide spectrum of biological activities in human and animal cells. These, include among others, antioxidant activity, chemoprevention of cancer, protection against cardiovascular diseases and antimicrobial activities. In the following years it is expected that more and more important phytochemicals that are associated with the health therapeutic capabilities of pomegranate will be isolated and characterized from pomegranate. Unfortunately, most of the public and scientific interest in pomegranate is focused on its medicinal properties and much less effort was dedicated to study the biology of the pomegranate tree, its genetic variability and the relevance of the genetic and biochemical variability to the various medicinal activities displayed by pomegranates. In this chapter an attempt was made to focus on studies that demonstrated variability in the content of various phytochemicals among different pomegranate varieties and the relevance of these aspects to studies of the effect of pomegranate on human and animal health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adhami VM, Khan N, Mukhtar H (2009) Cancer chemoprevention by pomegranate: laboratory and clinical evidence. Nutr Cancer 61:811–815

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Afaq F, Saleem M, Krueger CG, Reed JD, Mukhtar H (2005) Anthocyanin- and hydrolyzable tannin-rich pomegranate fruit extract modulates MAPK and NF-kappaB pathways and inhibits skin tumorigenesis in CD-1 mice. Int J Cancer 113:423–433

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aviram M, Rosenblat M (2012) Pomegranate protection against cardiovascular diseases. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2012:382763

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Aviram M, Dornfeld L, Rosenblat M, Volkova N, Kaplan M, Coleman R, Hayek T, Presser D, Fuhrman B (2000) Pomegranate juice consumption reduces oxidative stress, atherogenic modifications to LDL, and platelet aggregation: studies in humans and in atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice 1, 2. Am J Clin Nutr 71:1062–1076

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aviram M, Dornfeld L, Kaplan M, Coleman R, Gaitini D, Nitecki S, Hofman A, Rosenblat M, Volkova N, Presser D, Attias J, Hayek T, Fuhrman B (2002) Pomegranate juice flavonoids inhibit low-density lipoprotein oxidation and cardiovascular diseases: studies in atherosclerotic mice and in humans. Drugs Exp Clin Res 28(2–3):49–62

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Balfour IB (1888) Punica. In: Balfour IB (ed) Botany of Socotra. Robert Grant & Sons, Edinburgh, pp 93–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu A, Penugonda K (2009) Pomegranate juice: a heart-healthy fruit juice. Nutr Rev 67:49–56

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borochov-Neori H, Judeinstein S, Tripler E, Harari M, Greenberg A, Shomer I, Holland D (2009) Seasonal and cultivar variations in antioxidant and sensory quality of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit. J Food Compos Anal 22:189–195

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borochov-Neori H, Judeinstein S, Harari M, Bar-Ya’akov I, Patil BS, Lurie S, Holland D (2011) Climate effects on anthocyanin accumulation and composition in the pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit arils. J Agric Food Chem 59:5325–5334

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borochov-Neori H, Lazarovitch N, Judeinstein S, Patil BS, Holland D (2013) Climate and salinity effects on color and health promoting properties in the pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit arils. In: Tropical and subtropical fruits: flavors, color, and health benefits. ACS symposium series, 1129, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, pp 43–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Butelli E, Titta L, Giorgio M, Mock HP, Matros A, Peterek S, Schijlen EGWM, Hall RD, Bovy AG, Luo J, Martin C (2008) Enrichment of tomato fruit with health-promoting anthocyanins by expression of select transcription factors. Nat Biotechnol 26:1301–1308

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Calani L, Beghè D, Mena P, Del Rio D, Bruni R, Fabbri A, Dall’asta C, Galaverna G (2013) Ultra-HPLC-MS(n) (Poly)phenolic profiling and chemometric analysis of juices from ancient Punica granatum L. cultivars: a nontargeted approach. J Agric Food Chem 61:5600–5609

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clinical Trials.gov (2013) Pomegranate studies. The U.S. National Institutes of Health. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=pomegranate&Search=Search. Accessed 22 Dec 2013

  • de Pascual-Teresa S, Sanchez-Ballesta MT (2008) Anthocyanins: from plant to health. Phytochem Rev 7:281–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Nunzio M, Toselli M, Verardo V, Caboni MF, Bordoni A (2013) Counteraction of oxidative damage by pomegranate juice: influence of the cultivar. J Sci Food Agric 93:3565–3573

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Du CT, Wang PL, Francus FJ (1975) Anthocyanins of pomegranate, Punica granatum. J Food Sci 40:417–418

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duman AD, Ozgen M, Dayisoylu KS, Erbil N, Durgac C (2009) Antimicrobial activity of six pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) varieties and their relation to some of their pomological and phytonutrient characteristics. Molecules 14:1808–1817

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Endo EH, Cortez DA, Ueda-Nakamura T, Nakamura CV, Dias Filho BP (2010) Potent antifungal activity of extracts and pure compound isolated from pomegranate peels and synergism with fluconazole against Candida albicans. Res Microbiol 161:534–540

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ercisli S, Agar G, Orhan E, Yildirim N, Hizarci Y (2007) Interspecific variability of RAPD and fatty acid composition of some pomegranate cultivars (Punica granatum L.) growing in Southern Anatolia region in Turkey. Biochem Syst Ecol 35:764–769

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ercisli S, Gadze J, Agar G, Yildirim N, Hizarci Y (2011a) Genetic relationships among wild pomegranate (Punica granatum) genotypes from Coruh Valley in Turkey. Genet Mol Res 10:459–464

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ercisli S, Kafkas E, Orhan E, Kafkas S, Dogan Y, Estiken A (2011b) Genetic characterization of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) genotypes by AFLP markers. Biol Res 44:345–350

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Esmaillzadeh A, Tahbaz F, Gaieni I, Alavi-Majd H, Azadbakht L (2006) Cholesterol-lowering effect of concentrated pomegranate juice consumption in type II diabetic patients with hyperlipidemia. Int J Vitam Nutr Res 76:147–151

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fahan A (1976) The leaf. The flower. The seed. In: Plant anatomy. Hakkibutz Hameuhad Publishing House Ltd, Jerusalem, pp 171–212, 321–394, 419–430

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawole OA, Opara UL (2013) Seasonal variation in chemical composition, aroma volatiles and antioxidant capacity of pomegranate during fruit development. Afr J Biotechnol 12:4006–4019

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fawole OA, Makunga NP, Opara UL (2012) Antibacterial, antioxidant and tyrosinase-inhibition activities of pomegranate fruit peel methanolic extract. BMC Complement Altern Med 12:200

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhrman B, Aviram M (2007) Pomegranate and cardiovascular diseases: pomegranate juice polyphenolic antioxidants protect against oxidative stress and atherosclerosis development. Acta Hortic 744:205–216

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gasmi J, Sanderson JT (2010) Growth inhibitory, antiandrogenic, and pro-apoptotic effects of punicic acid in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells. J Agric Food Chem 58:12149–12156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glazer I, Masaphy S, Marciano P, Bar-Ilan I, Holland D, Kerem Z, Amir R (2012) Partial identification of antifungal compounds from Punica granatum peel extracts. J Agric Food Chem 60:4841–4848

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goor A, Liberman J (1956) The pomegranate. State of Israel, Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Publishing Section, Tel-Aviv

    Google Scholar 

  • Hajiahmadi Z, Talebi M, Sayed-Tabatabaei BE (2013) Studying genetic variability of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) based on chloroplast DNA and barcode genes. Mol Biotechnol 55:249–259

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hajimahmoodi M, Oveisi MR, Sadeghi N, Jannat B, Hadjibabaie M, Farahani E, Akrami MR, Namdar R (2008) Antioxidant properties of peel and pulp hydro extract in ten Persian pomegranate cultivars. Pak J Biol Sci 11:1600–1604

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holland D, Hatib K, Bar-Ya’akov I (2009) Pomegranate: botany, horticulture, breeding. In: Janick J (ed) Horticultural reviews, vol 35(2). Wiley, Hoboken, pp 127–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayaprakasha GK, Negi PS, Jena BS (2006) Antimicrobial activities of pomegranate from pomegranate ancient roots to modern science. In: Seeram NP, Schulman RN, Heber D (eds) Pomegranates: ancient roots to modern medicine. CRC Press, New York, pp 167–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Jbir R, Hasnaoui N, Mars M, Marrakchi M, Trifi M (2008) Characterization of Tunisian pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars using amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. Sci Hortic 115:231–237

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jurenka JS (2008) Therapeutic applications of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.): a review. Altern Med Rev 13(2):128–144

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Katz SR, Newman RA, Lansky EP (2007) Punica granatum: heuristic treatment for diabetes mellitus. J Med Food 10:213–217

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koes R, Verweij W, Quattrocchio F (2005) Flavonoids: a colourful model for the regulation and evolution of biochemical pathways. Trends Plant Sci 10:236–242

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lansky EP (2006) Beware of pomegranates bearing 40 % ellagic acid. J Med Food 9:119–122

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lansky EP, Newman RA (2007) Punica granatum (pomegranate) and its potential for prevention and treatment of inflammation and cancer. J Ethnopharmacol 109:177–206

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lansky EP, Harrison G, Froom P, Jiang WG (2005a) Pomegranate (Punica granatum) pure chemicals show possible synergistic inhibition of human PC-3 prostate cancer cell invasion across Matrigel. Invest New Drugs 23:121–122

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lansky EP, Jiang W, Mo H, Bravo L, Froom P, Yu W, Harris NM, Neeman I, Campbell MJ (2005b) Possible synergistic prostate cancer suppression by anatomically discrete pomegranate fractions. Invest New Drugs 23:11–20

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Legua P, Melgarejo P, Abdelmajid H, Martínez JJ, Martínez R, Ilham H, Hafida H, Hernández F (2012) Total phenols and antioxidant capacity in 10 Moroccan pomegranate varieties. J Food Sci 77:C115–C120

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levin GM (1981) Wild pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in Turkmenistan. Izvestiia Akad Nauk Turkm SSR Ser Biol Nauk 2:60–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin GM (2006) In: Baer BL (ed) Pomegranate roads: a Soviet botanist’s exile from Eden. Floreat Press, Forestville

    Google Scholar 

  • Malik A, Mukhtar H (2006) Prostate cancer prevention through pomegranate fruit. Cell Cycle 5:371–373

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mars M (2000) Pomegranate plant material: genetic resources and breeding, a review. Options Méditerr Sér Sémin Méditer 42:55–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Melgarejo P, Salazar DM, Amoros A, Artes F (1995) Total lipids content and fatty acid composition of seed oils from six pomegranate cultivars. J Sci Food Agric 69:253–256

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melgarejo P, Martcnez JJ, HerncLndez F, Martcnez R, Legua P, Oncinab R, Martínez-Murcia A (2009) Cultivar identification using 18S-28S rDNA intergenic spacer-RFLP in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.). Sci Hortic 120:500–503

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mertens-Talcott SU, Percival SS (2005) Ellagic acid and quercetin interact synergistically with resveratrol in the induction of apoptosis and cause transient cell cycle arrest in human leukemia cells. Cancer Lett 218:141–151

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morton J (1987) Pomegranate. In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F Morton, Miami, pp 352–355

    Google Scholar 

  • Navindra P, Seeram NP, Zhang Y, Reed JD, Krueger CG, Vaya J (2006) Pomegranate phytochemicals. In: Seeram NP, Schulman RN, Heber D (eds) Pomegranates: ancient roots to modern medicine. CRC Press, New York, pp 3–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Opara LU, Al-Ani MR, Al-Shuaibi YS (2009) Physico-chemical properties, vitamin C content, and antimicrobial properties of pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.). Food Bioprocess Technol 2:315–321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ozgen M, Durgaç C, Serçe S, Kaya C (2008) Chemical and antioxidant properties of pomegranate cultivars grown in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Food Chem 111:703–706

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paller CJ, Ye X, Wozniak PJ, Gillespie BK, Sieber PR, Greengold RH, Stockton BR, Hertzman BL, Efros MD, Roper RP, Liker HR, Carducci MA (2012) A randomized phase II study of pomegranate extract for men with rising PSA following initial therapy for localized prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 16:50–55

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rana JC, Pradheep K, Verma V (2007) Naturally occurring wild relatives of temperate fruits in Western Himalayan region of India: an analysis. Biodivers Conserv 16:3963–3991

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocha A, Wang L, Penichet M, Martins-Green M (2012) Pomegranate juice and specific components inhibit cell and molecular processes critical for metastasis of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 136:647–658

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblat M, Hayek T, Aviram M (2006) Anti-oxidative effects of pomegranate juice (PJ) consumption by diabetic patients on serum and on macrophages. Atherosclerosis 187:363–371

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz E, Glazer I, Bar-Ya’akov I, Matityahu I, Bar-Ilan I, Holland D, Amir R (2009a) Changes in chemical constituents during the maturation and ripening of two commercially important pomegranate accessions. Food Chem 115:965–973

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz E, Tzulker R, Glazer I, Bar-Ya’akov I, Wiesman Z, Tripler E, Bar-Ilan I, Fromm H, Borochov-Neori H, Holland D, Amir R (2009b) Environmental conditions affect the color, taste, and antioxidant capacity of 11 pomegranate accessions’ fruits. J Agric Food Chem 57:9197–9209

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seeram NP, Schulman RN, Heber D (2006) Pomegranates: ancient roots to modern medicine. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Shilkina IA (1973) On the xylem anatomy of the genus Punica L. Bot Zhurnal 58:1628–1630

    Google Scholar 

  • Soriano JM, Zuriaga E, Rubio P, LlcLcer G, Infante R, Badenes M (2011) Development and characterization of microsatellite markers in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.). Mol Breed 27:119–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Still DW (2006) Pomegranate: a botanical perspective. In: Seeram NP, Schulman RN, Heber D (eds) Pomegranates: ancient roots to modern medicine. CRC Press, New York, pp 199–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Stowe CB (2011) The effects of pomegranate juice consumption on blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Complement Ther Clin Pract 17:113–115

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tehranifar A, Zarei M, Esfandiyari B, Nemati Z (2010) Physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum) of different cultivars grown in Iran. Hortic Environ Biotechnol 51:573–579

    Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira da Silva JA, Ranac TS, Narzaryd D, Vermae N, Meshramf DT, Ranadeg SH (2013) Pomegranate biology and biotechnology: a review. Sci Hortic 160:85–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tzulker R, Glazer I, Bar-Ilan I, Holland D, Aviram M, Amir R (2007) Antioxidant activity, polyphenol content, and related compounds in different fruit juices and homogenates prepared from 29 different pomegranate accessions. J Agric Food Chem 55:9559–9570

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verma N, Mohanty A, Lal A (2010) Pomegranate genetic resources and germplasm conservation: a review. Fruit Veg Cereal Sci Biotechnol 4:120–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Viuda-Martos M, Fernández-López J, Pérez-Álvarez JA (2010) Pomegranate and its many functional components as related to human health: a review. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf 9:635–654

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace TC (2001) Anthocyanins in cardiovascular disease. Adv Nutr 2:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang LS, Stoner GD (2008) Anthocyanins and their role in cancer prevention. Cancer Lett 269:281–290

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Ho J, Glackin C, Martins-Green M (2012) Specific pomegranate juice components as potential inhibitors of prostate cancer metastasis. Transl Oncol 5:344–355

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Winkel-Shirley B (2001) Flavonoid biosynthesis: a colorful model for genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, and biotechnology. Plant Physiol 126:485–493

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan Z, Yin Y, Qu J, Zhu L, Li Y (2007) Population genetic diversity in Chinese pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars revealed by fluorescent-AFLP markers. J Genet Genomics 34:1061–1071

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zamani Z, Sarkhosh A, Fatahi R, Ebadi A (2007) Genetic relationships among pomegranate genotypes studied by fruit characteristics and RAPD markers. J Hortic Sci Biotechnol 82:11–18

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zamani Z, Abadi M, Khadivi-Khub A (2013) Comparative analysis of genetic structure and variability in wild and cultivated pomegranates as revealed by morphological variables and molecular markers. Plant Syst Evol 299:1967–1980

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zukovskii PM (1950) Punica. In: Cultivated plants and their wild relatives. State Publishing House Soviet Science, Moscow, pp 60–61

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Deciduous Fruit Tree Sciences, Institute of Plant Sciences, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, 1021, Ramat Yishay, 3009500, Israel

    Doron Holland & Irit Bar-Ya’akov

Authors
  1. Doron Holland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Irit Bar-Ya’akov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doron Holland .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Introduction and Seed Research Institute of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Research Organisation, Bet-Dagan, Israel

    Zohara Yaniv

  2. The Aromatic, Medicinal and Spice Crops Unit Newe Ya’ar Research Centre, Agricultural Research Organization, Ramat Yishay, Israel

    Nativ Dudai

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Holland, D., Bar-Ya’akov, I. (2014). Pomegranate: Aspects Concerning Dynamics of Health Beneficial Phytochemicals and Therapeutic Properties with Respect to the Tree Cultivar and the Environment. In: Yaniv, Z., Dudai, N. (eds) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the Middle-East. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9276-9_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation