Punica granatum is a fruit in a shape of a grenade from the 18th century. It belongs to the same class of roses and apples. Native of the Middle East, the tree grows in United States, in California and Arizona. It’s loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, potassium, folic acid and iron.
History
This functional food is one of the oldest fruits known to man. The Romans called it the Punic apple since the fruit was imported via Carthage (Punic), which was the focal point of pomegranate cultivation in the Classic Times.
The ruby jewel of functional foods
This fruit is probably the apple of knowledge responsible for the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. In their long history, pomegranates have been linked to health, fertility and rebirth. They figure prominently in many religions and are found in art and literature. Ancient pharaohs were buried with pomegranates in hope of a second life. In Islam , the fruit is said to grow in the gardens of paradise.
Availability
All year long. Watch for the 100% juice not the cocktail where lot of sugar is added. For the most adventurous, the fruit is available 5 months during football season (The peak market season is September to January). They can be messy unless you open them up as shown in this video. Whole pomegranates keep well at room temperature for several days and up to three months if refrigerated in plastic bags. The seeds can be refrigerated up to three days only.
Latest Cancer Researches
There are about 60 publications on pomegranate so far. The most spectacular results were obtained on prostate cancer ,where the androgen receptors were decreased. The study was performed at the UCLA. Furthermore, angiogenesis and inflammation were shown to be inhibited on breast cancer.
Types of Cancers Affected
Breast cancer
Prostate cancer
Lung cancer
Colon cancer
Liver cancer
Leukemia
Gastrointestinal cancer
Skin cancer
Posology
Quantity : 8 oz, 1 cup or 1 glass of 100% juice
Cancer Protection level
| Apoptosis |  |
| Angiogenesis |  |
| Inflammation | |
| Proliferation | |
Bonus: Androgen modulator
References
1-Pomegranate ellagitannin-derived metabolites inhibit prostate cancer growth and localize to the mouse prostate gland. Seeram NP, Aronson WJ, Zhang Y, Henning SM, Moro A, Lee RP, Sartippour M, Harris DM, Rettig M, Suchard MA, Pantuck AJ, Belldegrun A, Heber D. J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Sep 19;55(19):7732-7.
2-Phase II study of pomegranate juice for men with rising prostate-specific antigen following surgery or radiation for prostate cancer.Pantuck AJ, Leppert JT, Zomorodian N, Aronson W, Hong J, Barnard RJ, Seeram N, Liker H, Wang H, Elashoff R, Heber D, Aviram M, Ignarro L, Belldegrun A. Clin Cancer Res. 2006 Jul 1;12(13):4018-26.
3-Pomegranate extract inhibits androgen-independent prostate cancer growth through a nuclear factor-kappaB-dependent mechanism. Rettig MB, Heber D, An J, Seeram NP, Rao JY, Liu H, Klatte T, Belldegrun A, Moro A, Henning SM, Mo D, Aronson WJ, Pantuck A. Mol Cancer Ther. 2008 Sep;7(9):2662-71.
4-Pomegranate juice inhibits sulfoconjugation in Caco-2 human colon carcinoma cells.Saruwatari A, Okamura S, Nakajima Y, Narukawa Y, Takeda T, Tamura H. J Med Food. 2008 Dec;11(4):623-8.
5-Pomegranate polyphenols down-regulate expression of androgen-synthesizing genes in human prostate cancer cells overexpressing the androgen receptor. Hong MY, Seeram NP, Heber D. J Nutr Biochem. 2008 Dec;19(12):848-55.