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# Pomegranate extract fights diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/pomegranate_extract_fight_diabetes_mellitus_0920140210/
- Published: 2014-09-20T15:09:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:05:58.000Z
- Description: University of Rhode Island researchers tested pomegranate extract and its phenolics, including punicalagin and ellagic acid, and found all samples inhibited glycation, several more potently than the control aminoguanidine. They suggest a role against AGE-related diseases.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Food, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

Saturday Sep 20, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- J.A. Dain at University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI 02881, USA and colleagues conducted a study and found evidence suggesting that pomeranate phenolics may help prevent age (Advanced Glycation Endproducts) -related diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus are found to have high levels of advanced glycation endproducts, which have been considered an inevitable environmental risk for human aging. 

Advanced glycation endproducts are produced in vivo when proteins react with serum glucose. Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients have high levels of AGEs because they tend to have high serum levels of glucose. AGEs per se may have a detrimental effect on this and other diseases like Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The current study tested in vitro pomegranate fruit extract (PE), its phenolic constituents (punicalagin (PA), ellagic acid (EA) and gallic acid (GA) and in vivo metabolites like urolithin A (UA) and urolithin B (UB). Pomegranate fruit are known to contain natural AGEs inhibitors.

All samples were found to have anti-glycation activities. PE, PA and EA were found more potent in inhibiting glycation than the positive control aminoguanidine. PE and purified phenolics also showed carbonyl scavenging reactivity.

AGEs are considered a risk for the aging. Thus this study suggests that phenolics in pomegranate fruit and many other plant sources can be used to prevent and treat AGE-related disease like type 2 diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer's disease.

Actually, studies have demonstrated that pomegranate fruit juice can be used to treat diabetes mellitus type 2\. A study recently published in Nutrition Research found fresh pomegranate juice ameliorates insulin resistance, improve beta- function, and decreases fasting serum glucose in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Glycation is part of the famous Maillard reaction, Thermally processed starchy foods contain AGEs and that is one reason why processed starchy foods with brown or deep down color are harmful to health. Phenolics are often reducing agents or antioxidative are known to retard the reaction. (David Liu, PHD)

*Liu W, Ma H, Frost L, Yuan T, Dain JA, Seeram NP. Pomegranate phenolics inhibit formation of advanced glycation endproducts by scavenging reactive carbonyl species. Food Funct. 2014 Sep 18\.* 

*Banihani SA, Makahleh SM, El-Akawi Z, Al-Fashtaki RA, Khabour OF, Gharibeh MY, Saadah NA, Al-Hashimi FH, Al-Khasieb NJ. Fresh pomegranate juice ameliorates insulin resistance, enhances β-cell function, and decreases fasting serum glucose in type 2 diabetic patients. Nutr Res. 2014 Aug 20.*