In the past couple of years, you’ve probably heard a lot of hype about the pomegranate and its juice. The fruit, bursting with antioxidants, has been linked to reducing the risks for heart disease, prostate cancer, and osteoarthritis. Because of this, we’re seeing more and more pomegranate juice products on the shelves of grocery stores. Now, research is showing that the leaves of the pomegranate plant could be helpful in the battle of the bulge.
The pomegranate shrub, “Punica granatum,” an ancient native of Iran and Northern India, has long been grown in the Mediterranean and parts of Southeast Asia, Malaya, Africa, and the East Indies. More recently, it’s become a crop in California and Arizona, for the use of its unique, sweet, and tangy fruit.
So, now it’s the pomegranate leaf’s turn to bask in the spotlight. Researchers in China decided to take a look at whether or not an extract made from the plant’s foliage could be useful as a weight loss tool, specifically in the areas of obesity treatment and fat-absorption prevention.
The Chinese scientists fed some mice a high-fat diet to make them obese. In the obesity experiment, they treated this group of rodents with 400 mg or 800 mg/kg of pomegranate leaf extract every day for five weeks. A group of mice at normal weight (20% lower than the obese mice) was kept separate as a control group. The researchers took regular measurements of the mice’s body weight and amount of food eaten. At the end of the five weeks, they evaluated body fat and the blood levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides (a main component of fat), glucose, and high- density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (a.k.a. “good cholesterol”).
At the end of the five weeks, the obese mice that had received the pomegranate leaf extract had lost a significant amount of weight and were eating less. Moreover, their percentage of body fat had dropped, as had their levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose. The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL had also decreased, which is a good thing, as it translates into a lesser risk for heart disease.
In the fat-absorption portion of the study, the obese mice and the normal-weight mice were given a one-time treatment consisting of a lipid emulsion (basically, a dose of fat) and 800 mg/kg of pomegranate leaf extract at the same time. After this treatment, the researchers checked triglyceride levels at various points. They also took samples from the mice to see how the extract acted specifically on “pancreatic lipase,” an enzyme responsible for breaking down fat in the body.
The fat-emulsion-fed mice that were given the plant extract showed a gradual decrease in their triglyceride levels, plus their bodies absorbed less fat from their food. In this experiment, the obese mice also experienced a reduction in appetite, while the mice of normal weight did not. The supplement seemed to limit the intake of energy from fat by suppressing the activity of certain enzymes in the pancreas.
While human studies are required in order to substantiate these findings, and in order to determine side effects and risks, pomegranate leaf extract seems to hold promise as an appetite-suppressant and obesity fighter in individuals who are already obese due to a high-fat diet.
Next Post: Antioxidants are Still Good for You — Despite Recent Reports
Previous Post: Dealing with the Medicare “Donut Hole”
Tags: glucose, obesity
