Antiinflammatory and anti‐cancer activities of pomegranate and its constituent, ellagic acid: Evidence from cellular, animal, and clinical studies

Abstract

Inflammation is commonly characterized as a defensive and protective reaction of the body to various exogenous or endogenous stimuli, which aims to maintain the body health. Punica granatum (pomegranate) and its constituent ellagic acid (EA) are recently more taken into accounts since their promising pharmacological effects. Therefore, we aimed to obtain a comprehensive review regarding antiinflammatory, anticancer, and antioxidant activities of both pomegranate and EA and their possible involved mechanisms. In the procedure, scientific databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched in the English language, until the end of January 2019. Pomegranate belonging to the Punicaceae has been used for medical purposes from ancient and in different cultures. Several studies have also supported that EA is the major active compound of pomegranate and possesses antimutagenic, antiinflammatory, antifibrosis, anticancer, and antiaging properties. It has been suggested that pomegranate and EA possess promising immunomodulatory effects in preclinical models as well as human studies through regulation of the T‐cell function and suppressing humoral immunity. Hopefully, we wish that this review and information could be helpful for designing further experiments to investigate the potential protective effects of pomegranate and EA.

Unripe Black Raspberry (Rubus coreanus Miquel) Extract and Its Constitute, Ellagic Acid Induces T Cell Activation and Antitumor Immunity by Blocking PD-1/PD-L1 Interaction

“…Among diverse compounds, ellagic acid has been identified as one of the main components of Chinese wild raspberry extract and is associated with various biological activities [30]. Indeed, ellagic acid has reported to have immunoregulatory function and anti-cancer capacity for the prevention of several cancers [31]. Ellagic acid regulates LPS-induced maturation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) by the modulation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activity [32].…”

Ellagic acid induces esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell apoptosis by modulating SHP‐1/STAT3 signaling

“…It has been reported that EA has antiproliferative and antioxidant properties, which is found in many vegetables, fruits and nuts, such as pomegranates, strawberries, raspberries, and so forth. 13 And many experimental evidences showed that EA displayed significant antitumor, antiangiogenic, and antimetastatic activities. 14 The anticarcinogenic effect of EA has been shown in some types of tumors, including prostate cancer, lung cancer, osteosarcoma, breast cancer, and so forth.…”

Formulation Strategies to Improve Oral Bioavailability of Ellagic Acid

“…EA is a chromene-dione derivative (2,3,7,8-tetrahydroxy-chromeno [5,4,3-cde]chromene-5,10dione), encompassing both a hydrophilic moiety with 4 hydroxyl groups and 2 lactone groups, and a planar lipophilic moiety with 2 biphenyl rings. This particular structure has both hydrogenbonding acceptor (lactone) and donor (−OH) sites ( Figure 1).…”

“…Present also in a large variety of tropical fruits, nuts, berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, goji berries) and in a type of edible mushroom (Fistulina epatica), EA has recently attracted deep interest, since many research studies evidenced the role of oxidative stress in different pathologic conditions like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, obesity and neurodegenerative disorders [2][3][4][5][6][7]. In this regard, EA may be a useful adjunct in Parkinson's disease treatment, as it proved to protect dopamine from oxidation and, by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, to exert a neuroprotective effect [8].…”