Pomegranate supplementation mitigates several cardiometabolic risk factors

Pomegranate supplementation helps improve certain risk factors for cardiometabolic syndrome, including body weight, BMI, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Researchers searched multiple online databases for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of pomegranate supplementation vs control on various factors (body weight, BMI, blood pressure, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, fasting blood glucose, and lipid profile) in adults or children.

A total of 53 trials involving 2,306 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled data showed that compared with control, pomegranate supplementation yielded substantial improvements in body weight (standardized mean difference (SMD), −0.14 kg, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], −0.25 to −0.03; p=0.01), diastolic BP (SMD, −0.39 mm Hg, 95 percent CI, −0.59 to −0.18; p<0.001), BMI (SMD, −0.17 kg/m², 95 percent CI, −0.30 to −0.04; p=0.01), systolic BP (SMD, −0.49 mm Hg, 95 percent CI, −0.68 to −0.31; p<0.001), serum fasting blood glucose (SMD, −0.15 mg/dL, 95 percent CI, −0.26 to −0.04; p=0.01), and total cholesterol (SMD, −0.12 mg/dL, 95 percent CI, −0.24 to −0.00; p=0.04), and HDL levels (SMD, 0.27 mg/dL, 95 percent CI, 0.08–0.47; p<0.001).

Changes in waist-to-hip ratio, HOMA-IR, waist circumference, serum values of haemoglobin A1c, alanine transaminase, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, insulin, and aspartate transferase levels did not significantly differ between the pomegranate and placebo groups.