A recent study reveals the potential of Punicalagins extract, to protect against chemotherapeutic drug-associated toxicities.
Chemotherapeutic drugs and radiotherapy protocols produce reactive oxygen species in cancer patients giving rise to therapy-associated toxicities. These treatments are usually supplemented with many supportive other medicines, the majority being potential hepatotoxins. These drugs are capable of modulating the hepatic metabolism causing severe toxicity and diminished efficacy of anti-cancer drugs. Besides, cancer itself induces hepatic malfunctioning.
Pomegranates are a rich source of polyphenols and are the main phytochemicals present in pomegranate fruit extract, including punicalagin. Pomegranate, generally considered the king of anti-oxidants, has the highest anti-oxidative potential among commercially available dietary supplements/beverages such as green tea and red wine. Recently, at the University of Calcutta, Sudeshna Mukherjee and co-workers have studied the molecular mechanisms by which Punicalagins extract protects oxidative stress-induced hepatic damage. Punicalagins extract supplementation in tumor-bearing mice differentially modulated redox changes, ultimately decreasing tumor-induced hepatic damage and cell death.
The present study identified the key factor behind the hepatoprotective potential of Punicalagins extract. These findings would add to the existing knowledge about cancer chemoprevention by dietary polyphenols and might lead to the application of pomegranate polyphenols as a supplement to escalate cancer therapy’s effectiveness by protecting normal cells from cancer-related toxicities, thereby enhancing the quality of life in cancer patients.
Article: Pomegranate Polyphenols Attenuate Inflammation and Hepatic Damage in Tumor Bearing Mice: Crucial Role of NF-κB and the Nrf2/GSH Axis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnutbio.2021.108812