Pomegranate

Punica granatum · Pomegranate extract · Pomegranate juice

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Blood pressure¹ Fasting glucose² Cardiometabolic risk factors³ Inflammatory markers^4–6 Memory in middle-aged and older adults⁷ Post-exercise oxidative stress⁸	Root, stem, or peel ingestion⁹ Known pomegranate allergy⁹

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing tree native to the Middle East, used as whole fruit, juice, and extracts⁹. Its ellagitannin-rich juice acts through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, partly via gut bacterial metabolites called urolithins^{10, 11}. People take it for blood pressure and related cardiometabolic risk factors, including glucose and cholesterol, and for inflammation, exercise recovery, and memory in older adults. Cancer prevention is also promoted, resting mostly on preclinical work¹⁰.

Blood pressure evidence is the most consistent: meta-analyses of randomized trials found lower systolic and diastolic pressure¹, with larger reductions at higher baseline systolic pressure. In overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome, a 2023 randomized trial of concentrated juice found lower serum testosterone, while luteinizing hormone and sex hormone-binding globulin did not differ¹². Products list pomegranate mostly as capsules, alongside juice; see Form comparison.

Per the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), root, stem, and peel contain substances that can be harmful in large amounts⁹. Memorial Sloan Kettering's monograph advises patients on blood thinners such as warfarin to talk with their healthcare provider¹⁰. It reports no clinically relevant human inhibition of the liver enzymes that rat data implicated¹⁰.

Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

55 sources, 52 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources