Insights & Discussion
Drinking pomegranate juice and sumac can help reduce symptoms in outpatients diagnosed with COVID-19, alongside standard treatment.
In the applied methodology, two groups were randomly formed from 182 outpatients with COVID-19. The first group had a diet containing pomegranate juice and sumac, in addition to their standard treatment. The second group, the control group, stuck to the standard treatment only.
The results from the study show that outpatients with COVID-19 who consumed a diet containing pomegranate juice and sumac, along with their standard treatment, experienced a significant decrease in their symptoms. Such symptoms include fever, chills, coughing, weakness, smell and taste disorders, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and abdominal pain. This decrease in symptoms was in comparison to the outpatients with COVID-19 who underwent only the standard treatment. Overall, the consumption of pomegranate juice and sumac has shown to be beneficial in reducing COVID-19 related symptoms.
Discover Related Insights
Pomegranate juice supplementation has been found to effectively decrease testosterone levels in overweight and obese women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome.
2023 Phytotherapy Research The effect of concentrated pomegranate juice on biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and sex hormones in overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled trial Abedini M, Ramezani‐Jolfaie N, Ghasemi‐Tehrani H, Tarrahi MJ, Amani R
Randomised Controlled Trial Pomegranate Testosterone
In the methodology, the study employed a randomized controlled trial which involved 44 participants. The women, aged between 18 and 40 years, had all been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and had a body mass index exceeding 25 kg/m. They were randomly divided, with one group consuming 45 ml/day of concentrated pomegranate juice and the other group receiving no intervention. A variety of biomarkers for sex hormones, inflammation, and oxidative stress were measured before starting the trial and again after eight weeks.
Further discussion of the results revealed a significant decrease in testosterone levels among the overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome who took concentrated pomegranate juice over the eight week period, in contrast to those in the control group. Apart from testosterone, no significant changes were observed for luteinizing hormone, sex hormone-binding globulin levels or for markers of inflammation and oxidative stress between the two groups.
Pomegranate juice consumption appears to somewhat enhance inflammatory status and complete blood count in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
2023 Complementary Therapies in Medicine Adjuvant pomegranate juice intake improves the inflammatory status of hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A randomized and placebo-controlled trial Yousefi M, Sadriirani M, Mahmoodi S, Samimi B, Pourmahmoudi A, Hosseinikia M, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Inflammation
The study was a randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial involving 48 patients and had two parallel arms. As part of their standard hospital care, patients were either given 500 mL of whole pomegranate juice daily or a placebo for a period of 14 days. The researchers focused on measuring inflammatory indicators and complete blood counts both at the start of the study and at the end of the 14-day intervention period.
Following the 14-day intervention, there was a distinguishable decrease in primary outcomes including inflammatory markers such as C reactive protein, interleukin-6, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the group that consumed pomegranate juice as compared to the readings before the intervention. In addition, considerable changes were also observed in secondary outcomes such as neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, platelets-to-lymphocyte and neutrophils-to-lymphocyte ratios in the pomegranate juice group compared to the parameters before the intervention. Finally, the mean changes in levels of interleukin-6, white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocyte, platelets, platelets-to-lymphocyte ratio, blood oxygen saturation and MCV were significantly different between the two groups by the end of intervention, while no significant difference was noted in other blood indices.
Pomegranate extract supplements can help improve clinical symptoms and lower blood cell counts associated with inflammation in patients with allergic asthma.
2023 Frontiers in Pharmacology Does pomegranate extract supplementation improve the clinical symptoms of patients with allergic asthma? A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial Hosseini SA, Shateri Z, Abolnezhadian F, Maraghi E, Haddadzadeh Shoushtari M, Zilaee M
Randomised Controlled Trial Pomegranate
In this study, 64 participants with mild to moderate allergic asthma were randomly divided into two groups: a control group which was given placebo capsules and an intervention group which was given pomegranate extract capsules. The intervention group was administered a dosage of 250 milligrams of pomegranate extract twice daily over a period of eight weeks. The clinical symptoms and blood cell counts of all the participants were measured before starting the intervention and post the completion of it.
The results of the study indicated that the group which was given pomegranate extract exhibited considerable improvement in clinical symptoms like shortness of breath and restrictions on activity, as compared to the control group. Additionally, the participants in the intervention group displayed a substantive drop in eosinophil, basophil, and neutrophil counts. Notably, there was a statistically significant difference in the neutrophil and eosinophil levels between the two groups, which suggests that pomegranate extract supplementation might have potential therapeutic benefits for asthma patients.
Pomegranate can significantly enhance women's health during and after menopause by reducing hot flashes severity and other menopause symptoms.
2023 Phytotherapy Research Pomegranate effects on the health aspects of women during peri‐ and postmenopause: A systematic review and meta‐analysis Moeini R, Shirafkan H, Gorji N
Systematic Review Hot Flushes Pomegranate
The study aimed at understanding the impacts of pomegranate on women's health through and following menopause. To gather data, a rigorous search was conducted on various academic platforms, including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar, up to the end of 2022. All forms of clinical research studies, from randomized clinical trials to case series, were considered for review. The material was evaluated using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool specifically for quality assessment of randomized clinical trials. To quantify the effects of the pomegranate intervention, standardized mean differences were calculated using a random effect model.
It was found that pomegranate significantly reduces the severity of hot flashes in menopausal women, improves their high-density lipoprotein levels, and reduces the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH). However, no significant improvement was noticed in the low-density lipoprotein, body mass index, and body weight. Despite these findings, the study recognized that the results' conclusiveness was hampered due to small sample sizes and the lack of study design elements such as blinding and randomization.
Pomegranate and its active components can protect against natural and chemical toxic agents, impacting mechanisms such as oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and liver or cardiac function regulation.
2023 Phytomedicine Protective effects of pomegranate (Punica granatum) and its main components against natural and chemical toxic agents: A comprehensive review Hosseini A, Razavi BM, Hosseinzadeh H
Review Article Oxidative Stress Pomegranate
This paper is a review of various in vivo and in vitro studies focusing on pomegranate (Punica granatum) and its active components, including ellagic acid and punicalagin, and their protective effects against toxic substances. The articles were sourced from multiple databases like Web of Sciences, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus spanning all available time periods until the end of September 2022.
The research indicates that pomegranate and its constituents have showcased protective effects against both natural toxins, such as aflatoxins and endotoxins, and chemical toxicants like arsenic, diazinon, and carbon tetrachloride. This protection is attributed to the preventive mechanisms activated against oxidative stress, reduction of key inflammatory mediators, modulation of apoptosis, and signaling pathways associated with cellular growth. Additionally, these components appear to aid in the improvement of liver and cardiac function through the regulation of key enzymes.
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