Effects of Pomegranate Seed Oil on some Cardio Metabolic Risk Factors

The benefits of pomegranate consumption for health have been the focus of scientists’ attention in recent years. Pomegranate seed oil (PSO) as a natural product of pomegranate, is a rich source of 9-cis, 11-trans conjugated linolenic acid with a high content of 9-cis, 11-trans, 13-cis acid or punicic acid (PA). In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that punicic acid, the main constituent of PSO, has favorable effects on some cardio-metabolic risk factors; such as serum lipid profiles (including cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), HDL cholesterol, TG/HDL-C and cholesterol/HDL-C ratio), diabetes indicators and body weight. In hyperlipidemic patients, PSO is able to increase HDL-C concentration, decrease mean concentration of TG, TG/HDL-C, cholesterol/HDL-C ratio, fat and TG accumulation in adipose tissue, liver or skeletal muscle, which can attribute to the suppression of delta-9 desaturation in vivo by punicic acid. In animal models, PSO also shows antidiabetic capacity, and has beneficial properties in obesity management. Supplementation of patients with type 2 diabetes with high PSO content diets resulted in improving peripheral insulin sensitivity and glycemic control, decreasing body fat mass and body weight without affecting food intake or energy expenditure, decreasing adiponectin concentration, and increasing leptin, insulin concentration, and glutathione peroxidase activity. The mentioned properties of PSO and bioactive components of PSO makes it as an excellent choice for supplementary treatment in some cardio-metabolic conditions

Keywords:

Pomegranate seed oil , Lipid profile , Diabetes , Obesity , Insulin resistance