Pomegranate helps with bowel inflammation

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Pomegranates and berries contain a substance that could relieve symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. However, it must first be metabolized by intestinal bacteria. The microbes convert the ellagic acid contained in the fruit into urolithin A.

Barrier function of the intestine improved

Researchers led by Rajbir Singh from the University of Louisville have found out in experiments with mice that this substance improves the protective barrier function of the intestine, more precisely, the intestinal epithelium. The intestinal epithelium is a layer of cells that lines the entire intestine from the inside. On the one hand, it has to let nutrients pass, but on the other hand it has to block toxins and pathogens. In patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, it is precisely this barrier function that is weakened. This makes it easier for harmful substances to pass from the intestines into the bloodstream.

More urolithin A, less inflammation

Urolithin A not only stabilizes the barrier function, it also reduces inflammatory processes. "The substance acts directly on the immune cells and thus prevents inflammatory reactions," the scientists write.

For their experiment, the researchers mixed urolithin A into the food of intestinal laboratory mice for seven days. In fact, the inflammation in the intestines of the animals decreased significantly: inflammation markers in the blood decreased and the rodents lost less weight than intestinal conspecifics who had not received urolithin A.

When the scientists examined samples from the animals' large intestines, they found that it was significantly less damaged after a Urolithin A treatment. "Urolithin A can significantly increase the barrier function of the intestine and reduce inflammation," the researchers write. The substances activated certain signaling pathways for this purpose. As a result, more so-called tight junction proteins are produced. They have the task of closing the spaces between the cells of the intestinal epithelium and thus stabilizing the bulwark against harmful substances again.

Prevent intestinal inflammation

Urolithin A can also have a preventive effect. If the mice received it before the disease could break out, the animals remain healthy. A synthetically produced counterpart of the natural active ingredient (UAS03) also had this effect.

The researchers have not yet been able to prove that the metabolized active ingredient in pomegranate can also help human patients. A corresponding juice diet should be healthy in any case. Because pomegranates contain many antioxidant polyphenols. These catch aggressive oxygen molecules, so-called free radicals, in the body. And they in turn contribute to the development of various diseases - from diabetes to heart attacks.

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