Antioxidant Effects of Hydro-Alcoholic Extract of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) on Some of Tissues

Esrafil Mansouri1, Hassan Ali Abedi2*, Mohammad Hassan Damshenas3 and Hossein Kargar Jahromi2

1Department of Anatomical Sciences, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. 2Zoonoses Research Center, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran 3Department of Anesthsiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.

ABSTRACT:

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is rich in polyphenolic antioxidant, which includes tannins and anthocynins and flavonoids. Researchers reported that pomegranate exhibits antivirus, anti-proliferative, anti-cancer, antidiarrheal and anti-diabetic activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant properties of pomegranate on kidney, liver and testis tissues of male rats. Eighteen rats were divided into three groups; Group 1, received distilled water; animals in the Groups 2 and 3 received hydro-alcoholic extract of pomegranate in doses of 250 and 500 mg kg-1 respectively. The extract was administrated for 8 weeks by gavage, then oxidative stress and antioxidant enzymes were studied in kidney, liver and testis tissues of all groups.-The hydro-alcoholic extract of pomegranate significantly decreased (p<0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) level, but increased (p<0.05) the superoxide-dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) activity of kidney, liver and testis when compared to control group. In conclusion, hydro-alcoholic extract of pomegranate possesses a powerful antioxidant activity and can increase levels of antioxidant enzymes in some tissues.

KEYWORDS:

Punica granatum; Antioxidant enzymes; Oxidative stress

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