A pre-clinical study has revealed the potential effects of pomegranate extract supplementation on the health issues associated with high fructose consumption, with an animal trial showing that it could counteract lipid deposition, dyslipidemia and fatty liver.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and obesity are major non-communicable diseases with high mortality rates worldwide. While dietary sugars are known to be responsible for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, researchers are still discovering the underlying pathophysiological effects of sustained fructose consumption.
A study published in the journal Food & Function tested the effects of Pomanox, a dry pomegranate extract from vertically integrated botanical ingredients producer, Euromed, on fructose-induced metabolic impairments.
The researchers hypothesised that the punicalagin and ellagic acid present in dietary pomegranate could counteract the harm caused by both obesity and liver damage.
Euromed head of Scientific Communication and Medical Affairs, Andrea Zangara, said that fructose consumption has increased in recent decades, despite the efforts of governments and health organisations to alert people to the health risks linked to sustained sugar intake.
“Metabolic syndrome, obesity, dyslipidemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes mellitus and cardiometabolic diseases are just a few examples of fructose-induced health problems,” she said.
“The current study, which received no funding from Euromed, is part of a comprehensive investigation into the efficacy of punicalagin-rich pomegranate extract in mitigating the adverse metabolic effects associated with various ailments, including diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and cardiovascular diseases.”
The trial supplemented nineteen Wistar rats with either 30 per cent fructose in drinking water or a 30 per cent fructose solution plus 0.2 per cent Pomanox for ten weeks. The results were compared to those from a control group provided with pure drinking water.
The researchers found that fructose promoted an increase in fat depots, hepatic fat content and glycoxidative stress, as well as inflammatory and immunological responses in the rats that consumed fructose in drinking water for 10 weeks.
In contrast, Pomanox supplementation decreased fat depots, counteracted the dyslipidemia caused by fructose and improved markers of liver injury including steatosis. It could thus be a useful supplement to pharmacological therapies aimed at controlling obesity, fatty liver and metabolic syndrome.
For further reading, the full paper can be found online here.
