Dr Mahmood Bashir BSc (hons), PhD

18 Dec 2007 JUDGING by the way they’re flying off the shelves of Britain’s greengrocers, pomegranates are the new ‘super food’ of the moment. Recent research into their health-giving properties saw the country’s biggest supermarket chain report a 76 per cent rise in demand for this Middle Eastern fruit and its juice this year.

Here we examine why this unprepossessing fruit is being linked with protection against prostate cancer, the most common male cancer in the UK.

THE RESEARCH
Pomegranates have been used in Middle Eastern folk medicine for centuries to treat everything from conjunctivitis to haemorrhoids, but their current popularity follows research from America linking them to prostate health. More than 30,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Britain each year and 10,000 die.

Last year scientists from the University of California at Los Angeles found that drinking just under half a pint of of pomegranate juice daily could hold back prostate cancer and even prevent older men from dying from the condition. (Ref 1)

The study of 50 prostate cancer patients, who had undergone surgery or radiotherapy, found that just one glass of the juice a day increased the stability period of the condition almost four times.

All the men in the study had had an increase in blood levels of PSA – prostate-specific antigen – after their treatment, which indicates that cancer is still present. Their PSA levels were then measured over a three year period to see how quickly they took to double – the quicker PSA levels double the more likely a person is to die from their illness.

Although the average doubling time is 15 months, drinking pomegranate juice extended this period to 54 months – almost four times the amount. The researchers concluded that by drinking pomegranate juice to this level a man aged 65 to 70 with the disease might be able to outlive their risk of dying from the condition.

There was also evidence that pomegranate juice was killing prostate cancer cells. The number of cells grown from patients’ blood samples fell by almost 30 per cent and the process by which cancerous cells are forced to ‘commit suicide’ rose by 17 per cent.

HOW DO POMEGRANATES HELP?
Pomegranates are known to be particularly high in antioxidants, which ‘mop up’ free radicals, the molecules which can cause damage to cells that can potentially lead to cancer. Scientists believe that of all the potent antioxidants that pomegranates contain ellagic acid may be the most important. This compound, also found in berries, nuts and seeds, is believed to play a roll in cancer cell death and is also thought to allow a chemical process which improves blood flow to the prostate and reduces inflammation.

Pomegranate juice often contains low levels of ellagic acid, but Just Vitamins’ pomegranate supplement Pompower contains one of the highest levels of this important antioxidant on the market.

Other studies into how pomegranate may be a benefit to prostate cancer patients are currently underway.

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REFERENCES
1. Phase II Study of Pomegranate Juice for Men with Rising Prostate-Specific Antigen following Surgery or Radiation for Prostate Cancer. Allan J. Pantuck, John T. Leppert, Nazy Zomorodian, William Aronson, Jenny Hong, R. James Barnard, Navindra Seeram, Harley Liker, Hejing Wang, Robert Elashoff, David Heber, Michael Aviram, Louis Ignarro and Arie Belldegrun. Clinical Cancer Research, July 1, 2006