Therapeutic Effects of Punica granatum (Pomegranate): An Updated Review of Clinical Trials

Table 2

Summary of clinical trials using Punica granatum (pomegranate) in gastrointestinal disorders.

Disease	Treatment	No. of patients	Study design	Dosage/duration	Outcomes	References
Non-pathogenic anorexia	(i) Appetizer syrup: Kismis (Vitis vinifera L.), Pipalli (Piper longum L.), Anar (Punica granatum L.), Amla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn), etc.; (ii) Placebo syrup	100	Double‐blind, RCT	5 ml twice daily/2 months	Improved abdominal fullness, general desire to eat, and satiety in the intervention group compared to placebo syrup.	[58]
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy	(i) Pomegranate and spearmint syrup plus vitamin B6; (ii) B6 tablets	55	Un-blinded, RCT	Syrup: 5 cc TDS; Control: 20 mg TDS/1 week	Reduction of PUQE-24 scores in the syrup group compared to control group ().	[59]
Diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome	(i) Ayurvedic herbal compound: Murraya koenigii (curry), Punica granatum (pomegranate), and Curcuma longa (turmeric); (ii) Placebo	22	Double‐blind, cross-over RCT	Twice daily/4 weeks followed by a one week wash out period	No significant improvement was observed in IBS-D symptoms compared to placebo.	[60]
	(i) Traditional Chinese medicine containing 11 herbs including Punica granatum; (ii) Placebo	119	Double‐blind, RCT	Twice daily/8 weeks	No significant difference was observed in symptom and QoL scores between two groups.	[61]
Inflammatory bowel disease	(i) PJ; (ii) Placebo	36	Double‐blind, RCT	125 ml twice daily/12 weeks	Reduction of fecal calprotectin levels in IBD patients.	[62]
Ulcerative colitis	(i) Punica granatum peels aqueous extract syrup; (ii) Placebo syrup	62	Double‐blind, RCT	6 g of dry peel daily/4 weeks	Improvement of symptoms in UC patients.	[63]
	(i) Punica granatum peels aqueous extract; (ii) Placebo	62	Double‐blind, RCT	6 g daily/4 weeks	Patients with hot temperament showed higher response to treatment in comparison to cold temperament.	[64]