Health benefits
Providing 16% of an adult’s daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, pomegranate aril juice is also a good source of the B vitamin, pantothenic acid, potassium and antioxidant polyphenols. Overall, however, pomegranate is not a significant source of nutrients.

The most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice are the hydrolyzable tannins called punicalagins shown in 39 peer-reviewed research publications over 1990-2007 (August) to have potent free-radical scavenging ability in laboratory studies.  Antioxidant punicalagins absorb into the human body after consumption of pomegranate extracts, and an ex vivo study of human plasma after consumption of a pomegranate extract standardized to punicalagins indicated an average 32% increase in plasma antioxidant capacity.

Many food and dietary supplement makers have found advantages of using pomegranate extracts (which have no sugar, calories, or additives), instead of juice, as healthy ingredients in their products. Many pomegranate extracts are essentially ellagic acid which absorbs into the body after parent molecule punicalagins are hydrolyzed.

In preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies, juice of the pomegranate has been found effective in reducing heart disease risk factors, including LDL oxidation, macrophage oxidative status, and foam cell formation, all of which are steps in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Tannins such as punicalagins have been identified as the primary components responsible for the reduction of oxidative stress which led to these risk factors.  Pomegranate has been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by inhibiting serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE).

Metabolites of pomegranate juice ellagitannins localize specifically in the prostate gland, colon and intestinal tissues of mice, leading to speculation that pomegranate juice may be effective against prostate cancer and osteoarthritis. In 2007, five clinical trials in the United States and Norway were conducted to examine the effects of pomegranate juice consumption on parameters of prostate cancer or prostatic hyperplasia, diabetes or lymphoma. The studies have not concluded (December 2007) but interim reports released to the public media were that pomegranate juice may slow onset or development of prostate cancer (above).

Containing polyphenols which inhibit estrogen synthesis, pomegranate seed oil was effective against proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro.

The juice may also have antiviral and antibacterial effects against dental plaque.