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. 2022 Mar 15;11(3):553.
doi: 10.3390/antiox11030553.

Potential Mechanisms of the Improvement of Glucose Homeostasis in Type 2 Diabetes by Pomegranate Juice

Carlos Olvera-Sandoval  1 , Héctor Enrique Fabela-Illescas  2 , Eduardo Fernández-Martínez  3 , María Araceli Ortiz-Rodríguez  4 , Raquel Cariño-Cortés  3 , José Alberto Ariza-Ortega  5 , Juan Carlos Hernández-González  6 , Diana Olivo  5 , Carmen Valadez-Vega  7 , Helen Belefant-Miller  8 , Gabriel Betanzos-Cabrera  9
Affiliations

Potential Mechanisms of the Improvement of Glucose Homeostasis in Type 2 Diabetes by Pomegranate Juice

Carlos Olvera-Sandoval et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Pomegranate is a polyphenol-rich fruit. Studies have shown that extracts prepared from its juice or from different parts of the pomegranate plant have various biological activities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, cardioprotective, and antidiabetic. The therapeutic potential has been attributed to various phytochemicals, including ellagic acid, punicic acid, flavonoids, anthocyanidins, anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavones. This review focuses on the scientific evidence of pomegranate juice as hypoglycemic, emphasizing the chemical composition and the possible mechanisms of action associated with this effect. Studies were identified using the PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science databases to identify relevant articles focused on the hypoglycemic effect of pomegranate juice. The physiological responses to pomegranate juice are reported here, including a decrease of oxidative stress damage, an increase of insulin-dependent glucose uptake, maintenance of β-cell integrity, inhibition of nonenzymatic protein glycation, an increase of insulin sensitivity, modulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, inhibition of α-amylase, inhibition of α-glucosidase and dipeptidyl peptidase-4, and decreases in inflammation. Overall, we found a significant hypoglycemic effect of pomegranate in in vitro and in vivo studies and we summarize the potential mechanisms of action.

Keywords: hypoglycemic; polyphenols; pomegranate juice; type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pomegranate fruit and its constituents. (A) External identification of pomegranate parts like calyx and exocarp named peel. (B) Internal parts of fruit organized by arils enveloped a pericarp layer. (C) Fresh pomegranate juice constituents. Created in Biorender.com.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Primary mechanisms of action that are considered for the study of hypoglycemic activity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Potential mechanisms of pomegranate juice or its extracts to improve glucose homeostasis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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