Pomegranate juice

Squeezed pomegranate juice

A worker preparing juice from pomegranates at a market in Istanbul, Turkey

Pomegranate juice is made from the fruit of the pomegranate. It is used in cooking both as a fresh juice and as a concentrated syrup.

Possible health benefits and risks

A bowl of fesenjān, a Persian stew made with pomegranate juice

While preliminary research suggests that the fruit juice may play a role in reducing the risk of cancer, reducing serum cholesterol, and protecting arteries from clogging, more research is needed to validate these findings. Its possible benefits also need to be balanced against its high caloric content derived from its natural sugars.

The cholesterol reduction effect has been observed only in small studies. This, as well as the anti-clogging effect of pomegranate juice, are the result of its concentration of antioxidants, and are similar to the effects shown in studies of red wine, black tea, and purple grape juice. There have been no large clinical trials showing that antioxidants can prevent heart attacks or other major heart-related events.

Marketing

The health benefits of pomegranate juice were promoted by POM Wonderful, a pomegranate products manufacturer. As of September 2010, the company and its principals were the subject of a false advertising complaint by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In May 2012, after a hearing, the administrative law judge issued an opinion upholding certain false advertising allegations in the FTC’s complaint—based on implied as opposed to express claims—and finding for Pom Wonderful on other points. Pom Wonderful's action in the U.S. District Court appears to still be pending as of May 23, 2012.

Pomegranate molasses

Pomegranate molasses is a fruit syrup made from pomegranate juice, not sugarcane-derived molasses. It is a reduction from the juice of a tart variety of pomegranate, evaporated to form a thick, dark red liquid. It is used in Iranian fesenjān and Turkish pilaf and çoban salatası. It is called دبس رمّان (dibs rumman) in Arabic, nar ekşisi in Turkish, narşərab in Azerbaijani language.

See also

• List of juices

Further reading

• Lovgren, Stefan. "Pomegranate Juice Fights Heart Disease, Study Says", National Geographic News, March 22, 2005. Accessed February 13, 2006
• Pomegranate - MedlinePlus (National Institutes of Health - Produced by the National Library of Medicine)
• M. Viuda-Martos, J. Fernández-López, and J.A. Pérez-Álvarez (2010) - “Pomegranate” (Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety)

Books

• Levin, Gregory M. (2006). Pomegranate Roads: A Soviet Botanist’s Exile from Eden. Floreant Press. ISBN 978-0-9649497-6-8
• Seeram, N.P. / Schulman, R.N. / Heber, D. (eds. 2006). Pomegranates: Ancient Roots to Modern Medicine. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-9812-4