Through its potent concentration of nutritious, health-giving polyphenols, the pomegranate is capable of widening narrow arteries and dealing with carcinogenic marauders. In fact, a research team from the University of Nottingham found that pomegranate extract destroyed several viruses on contact. The most active and potent effects of pomegranate comes from its ellagic acid content.

Cardiovascular Benefits
The beneficial properties of pomegranate juice were first suggested by Lansky at the College of Pharmacy in South Dakota. Since then, pomegranate juice has been linked to a reduction in the amount of plaque in the arteries. Some of this effect may be traced to the juice's ability to interfere with the initial process of atherosclerosis, the oxidation of LDL (bad cholesterol) which leads to the eventual migration and aggregation of cholesterol in the arterial wall.

Researchers in Israel have reported several other mechanisms behind the anti-atherogenic properties of pomegranate juice, including the antioxidant tannins within the juice. Consumption of these tannins results in a better balance of good-to-bad cholesterol. Additionally, the researchers found that pomegranate juice reduced the thickness of the carotid artery, lowering blood pressure and greatly benefiting carotid stenosis patients during a three year study.

Anti-Carcogenic effects
Pomegranate peel and the ellagic acid that resides within it have also been shown to have remarkable effects against the scourges of cancer.

This effect manifests itself even in in-vitro studies that show antioestrogenic effects and the inhibition of 17 beta-estradiol, an enzyme which can lead to tumors in women.

The anticarcogenic and antimutagenic effects of ellagic acid manifest themselves in a variety of ways against an array of toxic, cancer causing substances:
• Carcinogens, such as nitrosamine, polycyclic hydrocarbon and fungal toxins, are eliminated by ellagic acid
• A potent antimutagen, ellagic acid protects against aflatoxin B1 and the potent environmental carcinogen, N-methyl-N¬nitrosourea
• Ellagic acid has also been shown to reduce the size and number of tumors in mice with lung cancer

How It Works
It's believed that ellagic acid works by quenching free radicals through the induction of the cellular antioxidant glutathione, and the activation of detoxifying enzymes. Ellagic acid also binds to DNA at threatened sites, blocking carcinogen access to our genetic blue print. Alternatively, by occupying the critical sites on DNA, ellagic acid may directly interact with reactive carcinogenic metabolites by donating its electrons and transforming the hostile metabolite into one less capable of doing harm.

The ancient medicinal traditions of the Mediterranean have long relied on the benefits of pomegranate. Now those benefits have been clarified by science. Not only do we have a pretty good idea what pomegranate is good for, but also how and why. Many of these ancient directions for using the pomegranate called for the rind, and we now know that most of the nutritious ellagic acid and tannins are present in the uneaten peel. Rather than eat pomegranate peel to gain these benefits, it is now possible to take ellagic acid directly, translating the ancient remedy of this seasonal fruit into something available year-round.