Pomegranate: Constituents, Bioactivities and Pharmacokinetics

Abstract

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), a species of Punicaceae, has recently become of great interest to the scientists who engage themselves in pharmaceutical, nutriological and pharmacological research, and new drug development, due to its distinctive multiple officinal parts and multiple bioactivities such as hypolipidemic, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-neoplastic, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, antidiarrheal, and helminthic effects. In the present review, we reported the research on pomegranate as to chemical constituents, bioactivities and pharmacokinetics in combination with the recent publications. The constituents of this plant were thoroughly reviewed, and the biosynthetic pathways of major compounds were discussed based on our research results and those reported in the literatures. The bioactivities categorized by vascular protection, digestive protection, anti-pathogenic microbes, anticancer, anti-diabetes, immunomodulation, and others were summarized based on our experimental and the reported data. This article also included the review of pharmacokinetic experiments conducted in our laboratory and toxic investigation reported up to date which may be in favor of the research and development of new drugs.