Table 5.
Therapeutic potential of Punica granatum on the reproductive system
| Model | Activity | Plant part/compd. | Study design | Mechanism | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viral | Antiviral activity against HSV 1 and 2 | Freeze‑dried juice powder (FP); Aqueous extract (AE); Peels powder (PP) |
HSV‑1 clinical strain and HSV‑2 ATCC G strain; Control=acyclovir; Cytopathic effect inhibition assay; MTT assay | Anti-HSV activity; Anti HSV 1 IC50: FP= 30.6 µg/ml; AE= 15.8 µg/ml; PP= 250 µg/ml; Anti HSV 2 IC50: FP= 18.14 µg/ml; AE= 17.6 µg/ml; PP= 185 µg/ml |
(141) |
| Cellular | Anti-Ovarian cancer | Punicalagin | Human A2780 ovarian cells; Cell Counting Kit-8 assay; Flow cytometry analysis; Protein expression measured by western blot analysis; Wound healing assay | Arresting G1/S phase transition; ↑BAX, TIMP-2 and -3; ↓β-Catenin signaling pathway; activity, Bcl-2, invasion capability and activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 |
(142) |
| Animal | Improvement of sperm quality | PJ | 28 adult male Wistar rats, divided into 4 groups; Group 1: 1 ml distilled water (control), group 2: 0.25 ml PJ plus 0.75 ml distilled water, group 3: 0.50 ml PJ plus 0.50 ml distilled water, group 4: 1 ml PJ, daily for 7 weeks | ↑Spermatogenic cell density, epididymal sperm concentration, and sperm motility; ↓ROS |
(140) |
| Animal | Reverses the deleterious effect produced by lead acetate (LA) | Pericarp ethanol extract | 30 adult male Holtzman rats; 5 groups: distilled water (control group), LA (lead acetate), LA with EEP (ethanol extract of pomegranate), LA with ascorbic acid (positive control), and EEP alone, respectively; 35 days | Protects the stages of mitosis (stages IX–XI), meiosis (stage XIV), and spermiation (stage VIII) in the spermatogenic cycle | (143) |
| Animal | Increases sex hormones | PPE (methanol extract); PJ |
18 adult male albino rats; 3 groups: control, 200 mg/kg PPE, 3 ml/kg juice, administered for 21 days; Testis indexed after | ↑Testosterone, FSH, LH, endogenous testicular antioxidant enzymes; ↓Lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide formation in testes |
(139) |
| Animal | Protection of testes against carbon tetrachloride intoxication | PJ | 28 Wistar albino male rats; 4 groups: control, CCl4, PJ and PJ+CCl4, CCl4 (2 ml/kg) administered via the intraperitoneal route once a week for ten weeks; PJ via drinking water 2 weeks before and concurrent with CCl4 | ↑Testosterone, FSH, LH, endogenous testicular antioxidant enzymes ↓Lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide formation in testes |
(144) |
| Animal | Sperm improvement in testicular torsion-detorsion | PJ | 21 male Wistar albino rats, 3 groups, control, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), and PJ+I/R group (0.4 ml/day PJ orally over a period of eight weeks prior to surgery) | ↑Spermatid, spermatocyte and spermatogonia concentrations; ↓Superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde |
(145) |
| Animal | Protection against 3G radiation-induced reproductive toxicity | PJ | Adult male Wistar rats, 5 groups, control, sham-exposed, 3G exposed, 3G exposed + juice and only juice groups, 3G exposure: 2 hr/day for 45 days, 6 days a week, vector signal generator model (VSG25A) | ↑Sperm count, motility, and viability; ↓Oxidative parameters |
(146) |
| Clinical | Improvement of erectile dysfunction | PJ | Double-blind RCT; Sixty sexually active, healthy males aged 21–70 years with a history of ED for at least 3 months duration, ED Score of 17–25 on the IIEF questionnaire, drink 8 ounces of juice every day for 28 days | ↑NO activity in vascular endothelial cells | (147) |
| Clinical | Anti-hemorrhagic activity against heavy menstrual bleeding | Flower | Double-blind RCT; In comparison with oral tranexamic acid, 123 eligible patients (20 to 49 years), non-anemic (hemoglobin (Hb) of≥10.5g/dl), had no history of previous thromboembolic disorders, chronic illnesses, or other diseases known to interfere with menstrual bleeding | ↓Duration of bleeding and menstrual blood loss | (148) |