Pomegranate juice helps benefit the heart
Pomegranate juice could be beneficial to heart health, finds a new Spanish study.
It found evidence of a link between consumption of a patented extract in PomeGreat juice drinks and retarding endothelial dysfunctions, which are among the first signs of atherosclerosis (where the arteries get clogged up) and cardiovascular diseases.
A study on swine using a whole-fruit pomegranate extract (added exclusively to PomeGreat juice drinks in the UK), has found that the polyphenol compounds in pomegranates, predominately punicalagins, help protect the endothelium, a tissue that covers the internal areas of blood vessels. The extract is taken from the whole fruit, including the skin and pith, using a complex extraction process.
This is the first in vivo study on the benefits of pomegranates on heart health.
Research author Lina Badimon, director of the ICCC said: “This study shows that enriching a diet with pomegranate polyphenols can help in preventing and retarding endothelial dysfunctions, which are among the first signs of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.”
The study, carried out on pigs, uses an ICCC-approved methodology. Pigs have a similar cardiovascular system to humans.
For the study 24 pigs were split into two groups. One group was given a normal diet and the other a high cholesterol diet. Both groups were given the whole-fruit pomegranate supplement, delivering 200mg doses of punicalagins daily for 10 days.
After the trial period, the researchers analysed each pig’s capacity to dilate its coronary artery, known as the endothelial function. Oxidative damage, inflammation markers and signalling pathways for nitric oxide synthesis were also assessed.
The pigs on high cholesterol diets showed up to a 50% reduction in dilating function, as expected, as well as a diminished capacity to synthesise nitric oxide.
However, when the pigs on high cholesterol diets were given the supplement it was found to negate the effects of their poor diet. The vasodilating capacity of their arteries diminished, oxidative damage at conorary level was prevented and MCP-1 inflammation markers were increased. Activity of the eNOS enzyme (endothelial nitric oxide synthase), an enzyme involved in the synthesis of nitric oxide, was also preserved.
The patented extract used in the trials, Pomanox, is developed by Probeltebio in Spain and exclusively licensed to PomeGreat in the UK. In the UK, the ingredient is called PurePlus. The study was conducted by the Catalan Institute for Cardiovascular Sciences (ICCC) in Spain.
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