To combat the rising prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), a recent study published in BMC Nutrition Journal was focused on the unexpected source – pomegranate peel extract/ supplementation to improve hepatic health and metabolic syndrome risk factors.
In the first phase of the study, the team extracted the active components from 750 kg of pomegranate peel using a hydro-alcoholic soaking method. Moving to the second phase, 76 participants diagnosed with NAFLD were assigned either 1500 mg of a placebo or pomegranate peel capsules alongside a 500-kcal deficit diet for an 8-week period.
The participants who received pomegranate peel extract showed significant improvements in various health markers across the study. The intervention group experienced a some reduction in body weight, waist circumference, body mass index, and body fat index. Blood pressure, lipid profiles, including total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, all demonstrated positive improvements.
Pomegranate peel extract was closely associated with improvements in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, liver steatosis, and stiffness. However, fasting insulin levels and the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) did not show any significant differences between the intervention and placebo groups.
While the findings suggest potential benefits of pomegranate peel extract in mitigating metabolic syndrome risk factors and reducing hepatic steatosis in NAFLD patients, caution should be practiced. This breakthrough adds to the growing research exploring unconventional approaches to address the complex issue of NAFLD and further detailed exploration and larger clinical trials are required to establish the efficacy of the extract.
Reference:
Barghchi, H., Milkarizi, N., Belyani, S., Norouzian Ostad, A., Askari, V. R., Rajabzadeh, F., Goshayeshi, L., Ghelichi Kheyrabadi, S. Y., Razavidarmian, M., Dehnavi, Z., Sobhani, S. R., & Nematy, M. (2023). Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel extract ameliorates metabolic syndrome risk factors in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Nutrition Journal, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-023-00869-2