Pomegranate Juice Promising for Prostate Cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pomegranate extract may prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth, if results of lab experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison translate to real-world benefits.

Dr. Hasan Mukhtar and his colleagues note in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition that pomegranates are high in polyphenolic compounds, making its juice higher in antioxidant activity than red wine and green tea.

When they incubated prostate cancer cells with low concentrations of pomegranate extract, they observed a dose-related inhibition of cell growth.

In prostate cancer cells driven by male hormones (androgens) and expressing prostate specific antigen (PSA), treatment with pomegranate extract decreased androgen receptors and PSA expression.

When human prostate cancer cells were injected into mice, feeding the animals pomegranate extract delayed the appearance of tumors. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited and survival was prolonged.

As for whether pomegranate juice could be recommended to men with prostate cancer, Mukhtar told Reuters Health: "Based on the data we have it's highly unlikely that it will produce any adverse effects and it is highly possible that it will produce useful effects."

Moreover, he added, since his group has also shown that pomegranate extract inhibits skin cancer growth, it is possible that the juice would be of benefit in many types of cancer.

SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition September 26, 2005.