Disease relevance of Punicaceae

• BACKGROUND: Anaphylaxis to mannitol present naturally in pomegranate and cultivated mushroom in a sensitized subject has been described recently, and an IgE-mediated mechanism to this sugar alcohol has been proposed [1].
• Photosensitization of nanocrystalline TiO2 films by pomegranate pigments with unusually high efficiency in aqueous medium [2].
• Punica granatum (Pomegranate) Juice Provides an HIV-1 Entry Inhibitor and Candidate Topical Microbicide [3].
• The present study examined the effects of CLN, isolated from either pomegranate seed oil or tung seed oil, and alpha-linolenic acid (LN), isolated from flaxseed oil, on serum cholesterol levels in male hamsters (body weight 105 g; age 10 weeks) fed a 0.1% cholesterol and 10% lard diet, for a period of 6 weeks [4].
• OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of antioxidant polyphenol-rich pomegranate juice (PJ) supplementation for 5 weeks on patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), since the oxidative stress plays a major role in the evolution and pathophysiology of COPD [5].

High impact information on Punicaceae

• Pomegranate from the tree Punica granatum possesses strong antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties [6].
• OBJECTIVE: We analyzed, in healthy male volunteers and in atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient (E(0)) mice, the effect of pomegranate juice consumption on lipoprotein oxidation, aggregation, and retention; macrophage atherogenicity; platelet aggregation; and atherosclerosis [7].
• RESULTS: In humans, pomegranate juice consumption decreased LDL susceptibility to aggregation and retention and increased the activity of serum paraoxonase (an HDL-associated esterase that can protect against lipid peroxidation) by 20% [7].
• DESIGN: Potent antioxidative effects of pomegranate juice against lipid peroxidation in whole plasma and in isolated lipoproteins (HDL and LDL) were assessed in humans and in E(0) mice after pomegranate juice consumption for </=2 and 14 wk, respectively [7].
• Anthocyanin- and hydrolyzable tannin-rich pomegranate fruit extract modulates MAPK and NF-kappaB pathways and inhibits skin tumorigenesis in CD-1 mice [8].

Chemical compound and disease context of Punicaceae

• Anticancer activities of pomegranate extracts and genistein in human breast cancer cells [9].
• 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 [10].
• We present the case of a 7-year-old IgE-dependent asthmatic child who, moments after ingesting several pomegranate seeds, showed a clinical condition of bronchospasm which responded to treatment with inhaled salbutamol [11].

Biological context of Punicaceae

• AIM OF THE STUDY: The present work aims to evaluate, in healthy humans, the bioavailability and metabolism of pomegranate juice ellagitannins, to assess their effect on several blood parameters (including cardiovascular risk disease markers) and to compare the antioxidant activity of punicalagin with that of the in vivo generated metabolites [12].
• Furthermore, pomegranate polyphenols increase serum paraoxonase activity, resulting in the hydrolysis of lipid peroxides in oxidized lipoproteins and in atherosclerotic lesions [13].
• In the present study, dietary effect of pomegranate seed oil rich in punicic acid (9cis, 11trans, 13cis-conjugated linolenic acid; 9c, 11t, 13c-CLNA) on lipid metabolism was investigated in obese, hyperlipidemic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats [14].
• In a recent study, we showed that pomegranate fruit extract (PFE), through modulations in the cyclin kinase inhibitor-cyclin-dependent kinase machinery, resulted in inhibition of cell growth followed by apoptosis of highly aggressive human prostate carcinoma PC3 cells [15].

Anatomical context of Punicaceae

• Pomegranate juice also diminished caspase-3 activation by 84% in the hippocampus and 64% in the cortex [16].
• The ability of pomegranate to inhibit the carbamazepine 10,11-epoxidase activity of CYP3A was examined using human liver microsomes, and pomegranate juice was shown to be a potent inhibitor of human CYP3A [17].
• Administration of pomegranate extract (juice and seed extract) for 2 weeks to ovariectomized mice prevented the loss of uterus weight and shortened the immobility time compared with 5% glucose-dosed mice (control) [18].
• In contrast, pomegranate peel extract (and to a lesser extent, both the fermented juice and seed cake extracts) stimulated type I procollagen synthesis and inhibited matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1; interstitial collagenase) production by dermal fibroblasts, but had no growth-supporting effect on keratinocytes [19].

Associations of Punicaceae with chemical compounds

• Mouse dams were provided ad libitum access to drinking water with pomegranate juice, at one of three doses, as well as plain water, sugar water, and vitamin C water controls during the last third of pregnancy and throughout the duration of litter suckling [16].
• An aqueous system based on a TiO2 layer photosensitized by natural pigment(s) from pomegranate, shows relatively high stability under illumination with a quantum yield of 0.74 and a photovoltage of 0.46 V [2].
• Pomegranate derived from the tree Punica granatum contains anthocyanins (such as delphinidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin) and hydrolyzable tannins (such as punicalin, pedunculagin, punicalagin, gallagic and ellagic acid esters of glucose) and possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties [20].
• In a yeast estrogen screen (YES) lyophilized fresh pomegranate juice effected a 55% inhibition of the estrogenic activity of 17-beta-estradiol; whereas the lyophilized juice by itself displayed only minimal estrogenic action [21].
• We have been unable to demonstrate an IgE-mediated mechanism (prick test, histamine release test and RAST with pomegranate were all negative) [22].

Gene context of Punicaceae

• beta-Secretase (BACE1) inhibitors from pomegranate (Punica granatum) husk [23].
• Punica granatum flower extract reduced the up-regulated cardiac mRNA expression of ET-1, ETA, inhibitor-kappaBbeta and c-jun, and normalized the down-regulated mRNA expression of inhibitor-kappaBalpha in Zucker diabetic fatty rats [24].
• In this study, we investigated whether components of pomegranate could inhibit CYP3A-mediated drug metabolism [17].
• Anti-diabetic action of Punica granatum flower extract: activation of PPAR-gamma and identification of an active component [25].
• Ethanolic extracts of Garcinia mangostana, Punica granatum and Quercus infectoria were most effective, with MICs for MRSA isolates of 0.05-0.4, 0.2-0.4 and 0.2-0.4 mg/mL, respectively, and for S. aureus ATCC 25923 of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.1 mg/mL, respectively [26].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Punicaceae

• Breast cancer chemopreventive properties of pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruit extracts in a mouse mammary organ culture [27].
• Taking into account that this antioxidant polyphenol is very abundant in pomegranate juice (> or =2 g/L), the present study evaluated the possible toxic effect of punicalagin in Sprague-Dawley rats upon repeated oral administration of a 6% punicalagin-containing diet for 37 days [28].

References