Pomegranate Punicalagins

What Is Pomegranate Punicalagins?

Pomegranate contains large amounts of polyphenols called punicalagins. Punicalagins have a broad spectrum of effects, including promoting prostate health, acting as a natural Viagra, and even inhibiting carbohydrate absorption.*

Benefits of Pomegranate Punicalagins

• Promotes healthy prostate size and function*
• Supports healthy hormone metabolism in the prostate*
• Increases testosterone*
• Decreases Estrogen*
• Decrease DHT*
• Promotes better blood flow to the penis*
• Decreases carbohydrate absorption*

What You Need to Know About Pomegranate Punicalagins

Pomegranate punicalagins are polyphenols primarily in pomegranate root, bark, and leaves that support the male reproductive system.

Once punicalagins enter your gastrointestinal tract, they convert into ellagic acid and urolithins, which enter the bloodstream efficiently through the colon. So, pomegranate punicalagin supplementation delivers high circulating ellagic acid and urolithins as active pomegranate metabolites.

How Do Pomegranate Metabolites Work?

• Blocking Testosterone Conversion to Estrogen: Punicalagin metabolites are potent aromatase inhibitors, preventing testosterone from converting to estrogen and substantially elevating testosterone naturally. A study of men and women found that pomegranate punicalagins raise the hormone 24%.
• Blocking Testosterone Conversion to DHT: Punicalagin metabolites inhibit the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, preventing testosterone from converting to DHT and increasing testosterone.
• Promoting Stronger Erections: Punicalagin metabolites elevate nitric oxide (NO), which relaxes the smooth muscle fibers of the penile arteries, allowing more blood to flow into the organ.
• Supporting Blood-Vessel Health: Studies show punicalagin metabolites enhance circulation and support arterial health.
• Preventing Carbohydrate Absorption: Punicalagin metabolites inhibit alpha glucoside, which decreases glucose absorption.

How Do I Get Pomegranate Punicalagins?

Unfortunately, you can't just eat pomegranates or drink the juice to get these effects. That's because punicalagins are mainly in the root, bark, and leaves, none of which go into making commercial pomegranate juice.

Effective punicalagin supplementation comes from quality pomegranate extracts. An effective dose is 100 mg or more. Look for labels that show the actual punicalagin content.

Research on Pomegranate Punicalagins

1. Sharma P et al. Pomegranate for Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: An Update. Molecules. 24 January 2017. Summary: This review summarizes preclinical and clinical studies highlighting the role of pomegranate in prevention and treatment of skin, breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancers.
2. Vicinanza R et al. Pomegranate Juice Metabolites, Ellagic Acid and Urolithin A, Synergistically Inhibit Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer Cell Growth via Distinct Effects on Cell Cycle Control and Apoptosis. Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 19 February 2013. Summary: This study describes how ellagitannins (ETs) from pomegranate juice (PJ) are bioactive polyphenols with chemopreventive potential against prostate cancer (PCa).
3. Wang L et al. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of pomegranate juice-induced anti-metastatic effect on prostate cancer cells. Integr Biol. 2011 May 19. Summary: This study demonstrates how, in addition to causing cell death of hormone-refractory prostate cancer cells, pomegranate also increases cell adhesion and decreases cell migration of the cells that do not die.
4. Chaves FM et al. Pomegranate Juice and Peel Extracts are Able to Inhibit Proliferation, Migration and Colony Formation of Prostate Cancer Cell Lines and Modulate the Akt/mTOR/S6K Signaling Pathway. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2020 March;75(1):54-62. Summary: This study presents evidence that both juice and isolated peel extracts from pomegranate fruit have important anti-cancer effects against prostate cancer cells, modulating the mTOR/S6K signaling pathway.
5. Kroeger N et al. Pomegranate Extracts in the Management of Men's Urologic Health: Scientific Rationale and Preclinical and Clinical Data. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013 Mar 26. Abstract: Numerous micronutrients and polyphenols found in soy, green tea, and many fruits and vegetables have been described to impact diseases including erectile dysfunction, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and prostate cancer. However, oftentimes these reports lack both a scientific rationale and supportive evidence base. The efficacy of pomegranate, on the other hand, in the modulation of central biological processes like inflammation, hypoxia, and oxidative stress that are important in the pathogenesis of urological maladies has been robustly demonstrated in preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies. Moreover, clinical trials have further supported its use in the treatment of several diseases, in particular in the management of prostate cancer.
6. Forest CP et al. Efficacy and safety of pomegranate juice on improvement of erectile dysfunction in male patients with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study. Int J Impot Res. Nov-Dec 2007;19(6):564-7. Abstract: This randomized-controlled trial examined the efficacy of wonderful variety pomegranate juice versus placebo in improving erections in 53 completed subjects with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction. The crossover design consisted of two 4-week treatment periods separated by a 2-week washout. Efficacy was assessed using International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and Global Assessment Questionnaires (GAQ). Of the 42 subjects who demonstrated improvement in GAQ scores after beverage consumption, 25 reported improvement after drinking pomegranate juice. Further, 17 subjects showed preference of one beverage to the other. Subjects were more likely to have improved scores when pomegranate juice was consumed (P=0.058).
7. Jeranka JS. Therapeutic Applications of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.): A Review. Alternative Medicine Review: A Journal of Clinical Therapeutic, July 2008,13(2):128-44. Abstract: In addition to its ancient historical uses, pomegranate is used in several systems of medicine for a variety of ailments. In the past decade, numerous studies on the antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties of pomegranate constituents have been published, focusing on treatment and prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dental conditions, erectile dysfunction, bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance, and ultraviolet radiation-induced skin damage. Other potential applications include infant brain ischemia, male infertility, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, and obesity.
8. Gur S et al. Characterisation of pomegranate juice effects on human corpus cavernosum. Andrologia 2017 Oct;49(8). Abstract: This study evaluates the molecular characterisation and confirmation of POM's action on human corpus cavernosum (HCC) obtained from patients (n = 16) undergoing penile prosthesis implantation. We conclude that POM induced marked relaxation of HCC via: (i) nNOS stimulation, and (ii) downstream relaxation stimulated by nNOS and cGMP and bypassing the NO and PDE5. This action provides a rationale for the therapeutic or preventative use of POM in men with erectile dysfunction who do not respond well to PDE5 inhibitors.
9. Azadzoi K et al. Oxidative stress in arteriogenic erectile dysfunction: prophylactic role of antioxidants. J Urol. 2005 Jul;174(1):368-93. Abstract: Antioxidant activity of known antioxidant beverages, such as pomegranate juice (PJ), red wine, blueberry juice, cranberry juice, orange juice and green tea, was examined spectrophotometrically. PJ demonstrated the highest free radical scavenging capacity. Antioxidant therapy may be a useful prophylactic tool for preventing smooth muscle dysfunction and fibrosis in ED.
10. Deng Y et al. The extract from Punica granatum (pomegranate) peel induces apoptosis and impairs metastasis in prostate cancer cells. Biomed Pharmacother. 2017 Se9;93:976-984. Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effects of pomegranate peel extract (PoPx) on the apoptosis and metastasis of prostate cancer cells and the related mechanism. They found that PoPx showed growth inhibition on prostate cancer cells. Nuclei morphological and flow cytometer (FCM) analysis indicated that PoPx could induce prostate cancer apoptosis. Wound healing assay and transwell migration and invasion assay implied that PoPx has the potential to inhibit migration and invasion, two critical steps in prostate cancer metastasis. Downregulation of MMP2/MMP9 and upregulation of TIMP2 showed accordance with the inhibition of migration and invasion. In summary, the present data showed that PoPx could be a promising drug candidate to treat prostate cancer, showing us a better way to develop novel drugs from natural compounds.
11. Bassiri-Jahromi S. Punica granatum (Pomegranate) activity in health promotion and cancer prevention. Oncol Res. 2018 Jan 30;12(1):345. Abstract: The available data suggest that Punica granatum (pomegranate) might be used in the control and potential therapeutic for some disease conditions and benefits human health status. This review summarizes in vitro, in vivo and clinical trial studies highlighting the pomegranate role in prevent and treatment of breast, prostate, lung, colon, skin and hepatocellular cell cancers.
12. Chrubasik-Hausman S et al. Pomegranate juice and prostate cancer: importance of the characterisation of the active principle. Phytoter Res. 2014 Nov;28(11):1676-8. Abstract: Two exploratory clinical studies investigating proprietary pomegranate products showed a trend of effectiveness in increasing prostate-specific antigen doubling time in patients with prostate cancer. A recent clinical study did not support these results. We therefore analysed a lot of the marketed pomegranate blend for co-active pomegranate compounds. The results show that the co-active compounds in the daily dose of the pomegranate blend were far below those previously tested and that the photometric assessment is not reliable for the standardisation of study medications. Not pomegranate but the low amount of co-active compounds in the proprietary pomegranate blend was responsible for its clinical ineffectiveness.
13. Wang L et al. Pomegranate and Its Components as Alternative Treatment for Prostate Cancer Int J Mol Sci. 2014 Sep; 15 (9):14949-14966. Abstract: Recent research has shown that pomegranate juice (PJ) and/or pomegranate extracts (PE) significantly inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells in culture. In preclinical murine models, PJ and/or PE inhibit growth and angiogenesis of prostate tumors. More recently, it has been shown that three components of PJ, luteolin, ellagic acid and punicic acid together, have similar inhibitory effects on prostate cancer growth, angiogenesis and metastasis. Results from clinical trials are also promising. PJ and/or PE significantly prolonged the prostate specific antigen (PSA) doubling time in patients with prostate cancer.
14. Amri Z et al. Growth Inhibitory and Pro-Apoptotic Effects of Ornamental Pomegranate Extracts in Du145 Human Prostate Cancer Cells. Nutrition and Cancer. Volume 72. 2020. Issue 6. Abstract: This study was aimed to investigate the influence of dwarf pomegranate extracts (peel, juice, and seeds oil) on the proliferation and apoptosis of human prostate androgen-independent cell line DU145. The three tested extracts exhibited a dose-response cytotoxic effect and antiproliferative action on DU145 cell line and induce morphological changes. The three extracts could also induce prostate cancer cell apoptosis by an increase of DNA fragmentation, PARP cleavage, and inhibition of the COX-2 expression. The strongest pro-apoptotic effect was shown after peel treatment.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.