Potential Mechanisms of the Improvement of Glucose Homeostasis in Type 2 Diabetes by Pomegranate Juice
Carlos Olvera-Sandoval,
Héctor Enrique Fabela-Illescas,
Eduardo Fernández-Martínez,
María Araceli Ortiz-Rodríguez,
Raquel Cariño-Cortés,
José Alberto Ariza-Ortega,
Juan Carlos Hernández-González,
Diana Olivo,
Carmen Valadez-Vega,
Helen Belefant-Miller,
Gabriel Betanzos-Cabrera
Affiliations
Carlos Olvera-Sandoval
Facultad de Medicina Mexicali, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21000, Mexico
Héctor Enrique Fabela-Illescas
Programa de Enfermedades Cardiometabólicas, Jurisdicción Sanitaria II Tulancingo, Servicios de Salud de Hidalgo, Pachuca 43679, Mexico
Eduardo Fernández-Martínez
Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, Centro de Investigación en Biología de la Reproducción, Área Académica de Medicina, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca 42090, Mexico
María Araceli Ortiz-Rodríguez
Facultad de Nutrición, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Mexico Iztaccíhuatl 100 Col. Los Volcanes, Morelos, Cuernavaca 62350, Mexico
Raquel Cariño-Cortés
Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, Centro de Investigación en Biología de la Reproducción, Área Académica de Medicina, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca 42090, Mexico
José Alberto Ariza-Ortega
Área Académica de Nutrición, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, Pachuca de Soto 42080, Mexico
Juan Carlos Hernández-González
Área Académica de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Av. Universidad km 1 Exhacienda de Aquetzalpa A.P. 32, Tulancingo 43600, Mexico
Diana Olivo
Área Académica de Nutrición, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, Pachuca de Soto 42080, Mexico
Carmen Valadez-Vega
Área Académica de Medicina, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, Pachuca de Soto 42080, Mexico
Helen Belefant-Miller
Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center, Stuttgart, AR 72160, USA
Gabriel Betanzos-Cabrera
Área Académica de Nutrición y Medicina, Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, Pachuca de Soto 42080, Mexico
Pomegranate is a polyphenol-rich fruit. Studies have shown that extracts prepared from its juice or from different parts of the pomegranate plant have various biological activities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, cardioprotective, and antidiabetic. The therapeutic potential has been attributed to various phytochemicals, including ellagic acid, punicic acid, flavonoids, anthocyanidins, anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavones. This review focuses on the scientific evidence of pomegranate juice as hypoglycemic, emphasizing the chemical composition and the possible mechanisms of action associated with this effect. Studies were identified using the PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science databases to identify relevant articles focused on the hypoglycemic effect of pomegranate juice. The physiological responses to pomegranate juice are reported here, including a decrease of oxidative stress damage, an increase of insulin-dependent glucose uptake, maintenance of β-cell integrity, inhibition of nonenzymatic protein glycation, an increase of insulin sensitivity, modulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, inhibition of α-amylase, inhibition of α-glucosidase and dipeptidyl peptidase-4, and decreases in inflammation. Overall, we found a significant hypoglycemic effect of pomegranate in in vitro and in vivo studies and we summarize the potential mechanisms of action.