Document Type : Review Article
Authors
1
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
2
Transplant Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
3
Department of Nutrition Sciences, Varastegan Institute for Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Email: Mrsh13713@gmail.com.
Abstract
Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional studies aimed to investigate cardiometabolic protective effects of pomegranate (Punica granatum) seed supplementation in adults.
Materials and Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science ISI databases were systematically searched until February 2025. Pooled effect sizes were estimated using mean change and standard deviation (SD) of outcomes in each included trial and presented as standard mean differences (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Also, heterogeneity among the included studies was measured using the I2 statistic.
Results: Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. Pomegranate seed supplementation led to a significant decrease in total cholesterol (TC) (SMD: -0.30; 95%CI, -0.55 to -0.05; p=0.01), triglycerides (TG) (SMD: -0.40; 95%CI, -0.65 to -0.15; p=0.002), Low-density lipoprotein to high-density lipoprotein ratio (LDL-C to HDL-C ratio) (SMD, -0.71; 95%CI, -1.12 to -0.30; p=0.001), and TG-HDL ratio (SMD, -0.49; 95%CI, -0.90 to -0.09; p=0.01) ratios, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) levels (SMD: -0.94; 95%CI, -1.36 to -0.52; p<0.001). However, no significant changes were observed in LDL-C, HDL-C, fasting blood sugar (FBG), insulin, hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), body mass index (BMI), and body weight.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis revealed that pomegranate seed supplementation may have a beneficial effect on cardiometabolic health. However, given the limited number of included trials, the findings of this review should be interpreted with caution and are not yet generalizable to clinical practice. Therefore, it seems that more trials are needed to reach a firm conclusion.
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