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Bladder and Prostate Cancer
Published in Spyridon E. Kintzios, Maria G. Barberaki, Evangelia A. Flampouri, Plants That Fight Cancer, 2019
Charlie Khoo, Yiannis Philippou, Marios Hadjipavlou, Abhay Rane
These results do not correlate with the early results available from randomized trials. Freedland et al. conducted a double-blind, randomized study of 70 men due to undergo radical prostatectomy. Participants received either pomegranate extract (POMx, Pom Wonderful, Los Angeles, CA) or placebo daily for four weeks prior to surgery. Resected samples were analyzed for intra-prostatic Urolithin A (a pomegranate metabolite), 8-oxo-2¢-deoxyguanosine (a major marker of oxidative stress), pS6 kinase and NF-κB (biomarkers of prostate cancer inflammation, development, and progression), and Ki-67 (a biomarker of cell proliferation). Urolithin A was detected in 21/33 in the treatment group, and 12/35 in the control (P = 0.031). Although POMx was associated with 16% lower benign tissue 8-OHdG, this was not significant. There were no differences between treatment and control groups in levels of other biomarkers (Freedland et al. 2013).
Increasing the Sensitivity of Adipocytes and Skeletal Muscle Cells to Insulin
Published in Christophe Wiart, Medicinal Plants in Asia for Metabolic Syndrome, 2017
Type 2 diabetic patients (fasting glucose >7 mmol/L) taking the juice of fruits of Punica granatum L. at a single dose of 1.5 mL/kg experienced a decrease in glycemia from 9.4 to 8.5 mmol/L after 3 hours, whereas in normal subject, the juice intake had no effect.108 This supplementation decreased plasma insulin from 11 to 9.8 μIU/mL, increased β-cell function and lowered insulin resistance.108 The juice of fruit of Punica granatum L. accumulates ellagitannins (between about 10 and 150 mg/mL for Spanish cultivars) and accumulates ascorbic acid (between about 80 and 200 mg/L for Spanish cultivars).109 Ellagitannins are not absorbed but converted in the small intestine to ellagic acid and by intestinal bacteria leads urolithins that are glucuronidated and excreted in the urine. Mason et al. provided evidence that intake of ascorbic acid at a dose of 500 mg/kg twice a day for 4 months improved insulin-mediated plasmatic clearance of glucose in type 2 diabetic patients.110 Besides, gallic acid is known to promote intake of glucose by rats myotubes in vitro.111 Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that intake of Punica granatum L. fruit juice attenuates the glycemia of type 2 diabetic patients by, at least, increasing the sensitivity of skeletal muscles and adipocytes to insulin. Decreased plasma insulin recorded in type 2 diabetic patient support this contention. More clinical studies are required to ascertain the value of pomegranate for the management of metabolic syndrome.
Nutrition and the Immune System
Published in David Heber, Zhaoping Li, Primary Care Nutrition, 2017
Polyphenols are a diverse class of plant secondary metabolites, often associated with the color, taste, and defense mechanisms of fruit and vegetables. They have long been studied as the most likely class of compounds present in whole plant foods capable of affecting physiological processes that protect against chronic diet-associated diseases (Clifford 2004). The gut microbiota plays a critical role in transforming dietary polyphenols into absorbable biologically active species, acting on the estimated 95% of dietary polyphenols that reach the colon. Our group at UCLA investigated the effect of pomegranate extract containing ellagitannins on the growth of major groups of intestinal bacteria and on the formation of urolithins (Li et al. 2015). Urolithins are found in the urine after ingestion of pomegranate and walnuts and are a metabolite of ellagic acid, which recirculates after conjugation in the liver and has metabolic effects on mitochondria, with extension of life span in Caenorhabditis elegans and enhanced muscle function in rodents (Ryu et al. 2016).
Punicalagin attenuates ventricular remodeling after acute myocardial infarction via regulating the NLRP3/caspase-1 pathway
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2023
Jian-fei Peng, Xiao-ni Zhao, Meng Zhang, Jing-ya Li, Chun-chun Zhao, Shu-shu Wang, Jia-li Wang, Hui Shi, Peng Zhou, Liang Wang
In this study, molecular docking prediction revealed that punicalagin may act on NLRP3. In vivo pharmacodynamics studies showed that punicalagin could improve hemodynamics and cardiac function, alleviate myocardial fibrosis and reduce myocardial cell apoptosis. Moreover, punicalagin could inhibit the expression of key proteins and genes in the NLRP3/Caspase-1 signaling pathway using immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR and Western blotting. The results suggested that punicalagin can prevent and treat VR after AMI, and the protective effect is related to its regulatory NLRP3/Caspase-1 signaling pathway. However, urolithin A, as a metabolite of punicalagin, has good effects on preventing and treating myocardial fibrosis, and anti-inflammatory activity (Chen et al. 2022; Hering et al. 2021). Further mechanism studies found that urolithin A has a good effect on inhibiting NLRP3, mainly reflected in mitigating STING-NLRP3 axis-mediated inflammatory response by promoting Parkin-dependent mitophagy (Zhang et al. 2022), and activating the AMPK and autophagy to inhibit the endoplasmic reticulum stress-related TXNIP/NLRP3/IL-1β signaling pathway (Zhang et al. 2021). Since punicalagin and its metabolite urolithin A both have good myocardial protection and inhibition of NLRP3 activity, in the future experiment, in-depth study will be conducted at the cellular level to clarify the substances.
Pomegranate peel polyphenols interaction with intestinal flora and its metabolic transformation
Published in Xenobiotica, 2022
Haidan Shi, Junqi Yang, Jianke Li
Based on the above results, it implies that may be two main stages in the metabolic transformation of pomegranate peel polyphenols (Figure 5). In the first stage, during the first 3 weeks, the main metabolites present in biological fluids are those derived from punicalagin by hydrolysis and further conjugation (methyl ethers or glucuronic acid derivatives) (Gil-Izquierdo et al. 2002). Since then, different urolithins were produced in the gut starting with tetrahydroxy-urolithin through the removal of one of the lactone rings of ellagic acid, and by sequential removal of hydroxyls to end with Urolithins A (Landete 2011; Espín et al. 2013). It was deduced that such changes may be related to the intestinal flora in faeces. The Urolithin A content in faeces of rats in group C of antibiotic intervention increased significantly, and it was proportional to time. The increase of Urolithin A in faeces of rats in group C was consistent with the decrease of it in urine.
Effects of Black Raspberries and Their Constituents on Rat Prostate Carcinogenesis and Human Prostate Cancer Cell Growth In Vitro
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2020
Jillian N. Eskra, Alaina Dodge, Michael J. Schlicht, Maarten C. Bosland
BRBs contain numerous bioactive phytochemicals including anthocyanins, ferulic acid, ellagitannins, β-sitosterol, and quercetin, and several other, nonnutritive compounds, as well as vitamins and minerals (14). The potent anticancer effects of BRBs have been attributed to their high concentration of ellagic acid and anthocyanins (15–17). BRBs are one of the highest dietary sources of anthocyanins (5–20 mg/g dry weight) and ellagic acid (EA, 1.5–2 mg/g dry weight) (18,19). EA is a polyphenolic compound derived by hydrolysis in the GI tract from ellagitannins found in fruits and nuts such as pomegranates, berries, and walnuts (20). Ingested EA is further metabolized in the gut to yield dibenzopyran-6-one derivatives (urolithins), mainly urolithin A (UroA) (21). EA and urolithins have potent antioxidant activity, inhibit cancer cell migration, and reduce cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro (21–23). Anthocyanins are naturally occurring flavonoids that provide blue, purple, and red pigmentation to a variety of fruits and vegetables, including berries, grapes, apples, and purple cabbage (24,25). They have growth inhibitory, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity, which makes anthocyanin-rich foods, like BRBs, an attractive option for the prevention and treatment of cancer (26–28). Cyanidin-3-rutinoside (Cy-3-Rut) is the most abundant BRB anthocyanin, which is deglycosylated to cyanidin and then is further metabolized to protocatechuic acid (PCA), the major anthocyanin metabolite (24,29).