Review Article Preventive and Prophylactic Mechanisms of Action of

Copyright © 2013 Monica Viladomiu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Pomegranate fruit presents strong anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiobesity, and antitumoral properties, thus leading to an increased popularity as a functional food and nutraceutical source since ancient times. It can be divided into three parts: seeds, peel, and juice, all of which seem to have medicinal benefits. Several studies investigate its bioactive components as a means to associate themwith a specific beneficial effect and develop future products and therapeutic applications. Many beneficial effects are related to the presence of ellagic acid, ellagitannins (including punicalagins), punicic acid and other fatty acids, flavonoids, anthocyanidins, anthocyanins, estrogenic flavonols, and flavones, which seem to be its most therapeutically beneficial components. However, the synergistic action of the pomegranate constituents appears to be superior when compared to individual constituents. Promising results have been obtained for the treatment of certain diseases including obesity, insulin resistance, intestinal inflammation, and cancer. Althoughmoderate consumption of pomegranate does not result in adverse effects, future studies are needed to assess safet