title: Pomegranate for your cardiovascular health.
abstract: Pomegranate is a source of some very potent antioxidants (tannins, anthocyanins) which are considered to be also potent anti-atherogenic agents. The combination of the above unique various types of pomegranate polyphenols provides a much wider spectrum of action against several types of free radicals. Indeed, pomegranate is superior in comparison to other antioxidants in protecting low-density lipoprotein (LDL, "the bad cholesterol") and high-density lipoprotein (HDL, "the good cholesterol") from oxidation, and as a result it attenuates atherosclerosis development and its consequent cardiovascular events. Pomegranate antioxidants are not free, but are attached to the pomegranate sugars, and hence were shown to be beneficial even in diabetic patients. Furthermore, pomegranate antioxidants are unique in their ability to increase the activity of the HDL-associated paraoxonase 1 (PON1), which breaks down harmful oxidized lipids in lipoproteins, in macrophages, and in atherosclerotic plaques. Finally, unique pomegranate antioxidants beneficially decrease blood pressure. All the above beneficial characteristics make the pomegranate a uniquely healthy fruit.
authors.affiliation: The Lipid Research Laboratory, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Institute of Technology, and Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aviram
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenblat
keywords: Atherosclerosis; antioxidant; lipoproteins (LDL, HDL); macrophages; polyphenols; pomegranate
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2005 May;180(1):55-61
references.pmid: 15823275
references.citation: Nutr Rev. 2009 Jan;67(1):49-56
references.pmid: 19146506
references.citation: Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;23(3):423-33
references.pmid: 15158307
references.citation: Free Radic Biol Med. 2003 Mar 15;34(6):774-84
references.pmid: 12633754
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2001 Sep;158(1):195-8
references.pmid: 11500191
references.citation: Circulation. 2000 May 30;101(21):2510-7
references.pmid: 10831526
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2007 Dec;195(2):313-21
references.pmid: 17292903
references.citation: Biochem Pharmacol. 2005 Oct 15;70(8):1185-91
references.pmid: 16143314
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2006 Mar 17;281(11):7657-65
references.pmid: 16407304
references.citation: Eur J Nutr. 2003 Jan;42(1):18-28
references.pmid: 12594538
references.citation: J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Nov 14;55(23):9559-70
references.pmid: 17914875
references.citation: Free Radic Biol Med. 2004 Nov 1;37(9):1304-16
references.pmid: 15454271
references.citation: J Nutr Biochem. 2005 Sep;16(9):570-6
references.pmid: 16115546
references.citation: BMJ. 2000 Nov 4;321(7269):1153-4
references.pmid: 11061746
references.citation: Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2010 Jul 15;67(14):1165-73
references.pmid: 20592321
references.citation: Biofactors. 2009 Jan-Feb;35(1):98-104
references.pmid: 19319852
references.citation: J Investig Med. 2007 May;55(4):163-7
references.pmid: 17651669
references.citation: Med Res Rev. 2008 Jul;28(4):483-544
references.pmid: 18000963
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2006 Jul;187(1):74-81
references.pmid: 16229851
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2010 Jan;208(1):119-25
references.pmid: 19783251
references.citation: J Ethnopharmacol. 2004 May;92(1):93-101
references.pmid: 15099854
references.citation: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2003 Mar 1;23(3):461-7
references.pmid: 12615663
references.citation: Phytochemistry. 2004 Jan;65(2):233-41
references.pmid: 14732284
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2012 Apr;73(4):518-35
references.pmid: 22053916
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2006 Aug;187(2):363-71
references.pmid: 16226266
references.citation: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2006 May;26(5):1156-62
references.pmid: 16497990
references.citation: Annu Rev Nutr. 2002;22:533-49
references.pmid: 12055357
references.citation: Life Sci. 2012 Jun 6;90(21-22):846-50
references.pmid: 22554491
references.citation: J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 24;56(18):8704-13
references.pmid: 18759451
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 May;71(5):1062-76
references.pmid: 10799367
references.citation: Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2012 Sep;67(3):309-14
references.pmid: 22648092
references.citation: Biochemistry. 2005 Sep 6;44(35):11843-54
references.pmid: 16128586
references.citation: J Clin Invest. 1998 Apr 15;101(8):1581-90
references.pmid: 9541487
references.citation: Coron Artery Dis. 2007 Dec;18(8):615-20
references.pmid: 18004111
references.citation: J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Feb;25(1):41-8
references.pmid: 16522931
references.citation: J Agric Food Chem. 2003 May 21;51(11):3493-501
references.pmid: 12744688
references.citation: Clin Chim Acta. 2004 Oct;348(1-2):63-8
references.pmid: 15369737
references.citation: Z Lebensm Unters Forsch. 1996 Oct;203(4):374-8
references.pmid: 9123975
references.citation: Cerebrovasc Dis. 2008;25(1-2):122-8
references.pmid: 18073465
references.citation: Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2012 Dec;67(4):351-7
references.pmid: 23093401
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2012 May 10;366(19):1752-5
references.pmid: 22533536
references.citation: J Agric Food Chem. 2000 Oct;48(10):4581-9
references.pmid: 11052704
references.citation: Free Radic Biol Med. 1999 Apr;26(7-8):892-904
references.pmid: 10232833
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2005 Jul;181(1):9-18
references.pmid: 15939049
references.citation: Nutrition. 2010 Apr;26(4):359-66
references.pmid: 19762215
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 1997 Aug 22;272(34):20963-6
references.pmid: 9261091
references.citation: Nature. 2000 Sep 14;407(6801):233-41
references.pmid: 11001066
references.citation: Am J Cardiol. 2005 Sep 15;96(6):810-4
references.pmid: 16169367
references.citation: J Agric Food Chem. 2002 Apr 10;50(8):2308-12
references.pmid: 11929289
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2010 Aug 6;285(32):24398-403
references.pmid: 20530481
references.citation: Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2011 May;17(2):113-5
references.pmid: 21457902
references.citation: Drugs Exp Clin Res. 2002;28(2-3):49-62
references.pmid: 12224378
references.citation: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2001 Sep;21(9):1451-7
references.pmid: 11557671
references.citation: Pharmacol Rep. 2012;64(2):377-85
references.pmid: 22661189
references.citation: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2003 Mar 1;23(3):468-74
references.pmid: 12615656
references.citation: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Jun 20;47(12):2436-43
references.pmid: 16781371
references.citation: Am J Cardiol. 2009 Oct 1;104(7):936-42
references.pmid: 19766760
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2013 Jan;226(1):110-7
references.pmid: 23141585