The effect of concentrated pomegranate juice consumption on risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Pomegranate juice is a rich source of polyphenols that may improve blood pressure, lipid profile, and other risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). No study has examined the effects of pomegranate juice consumption on the clinical outcomes of PCOS. This study aimed to examine the effects of concentrated pomegranate juice (CPJ) consumption on risk factors of CVDs in women with PCOS. In this randomized clinical trial, 44 PCOS women with an age range of 18–40 years and body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 were recruited. They were randomly allocated to the CPJ (n = 22) and control (n = 22) groups, and followed for 8 weeks. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, and biochemical parameters were measured at baseline and at the end of the trial. Compared with the control group, CPJ consumption significantly reduced systolic (−9.77 ± 1.46 vs. −1.18 ± 1.46 mmHg, p < .001) and diastolic (−3.87 ± 1.36 vs. 0.30 ± 1.36 mmHg, p = .05) blood pressure, serum triglyceride (TG) levels (−7.82 ± 6.32 vs. 16.63 ± 6.32 mg/dl, p = .01), TG/high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C) ratio (−0.39 ± 0.24 vs. 0.66 ± 0.24, p = .007), and increased serum concentrations of low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (LDL‐C) (6.03 ± 2.47 vs. −1.98 ± 2.47 mg/dl, p = .04) and HDL‐C (1.93 ± 1.10 vs. −1.78 ± 1.10 mg/dl, p = .03). These findings were obtained after taking baseline measurements and potential confounders into account. No adverse event or complication was reported due to CPJ consumption throughout the study. We found that CPJ consumption has a beneficial effect on blood pressure, serum concentrations of TG and HDL‐C, and TG/HDL‐C ratio in women with PCOS. However, this juice could increase serum LDL‐C levels in these patients. This trial was registered at http://www.irct.ir as IRCT20191109045383N1.

The effect of pomegranate extract on anthropometric indices, serum lipids, glycemic indicators, and blood pressure in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A randomized double‐blind clinical trial

“…Nevertheless, another study found a pomegranate extract reduction effect on DBP without any effect on SBP (Stockton et al, 2017). Three clinical trials with different subjects (polycystic ovary syndrome, healthy individuals, and hypertension) that used pomegranate juice or its concentrate showed a significant reduction in SBP and DBP (Abedini, Ghasemi‐Tehrani, Tarrahi, & Amani, 2021; Asgary et al, 2014; Tsang et al, 2012).…”

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“…Ovosicare® Fertility also contains pomegranate extract (Pomanox®) which is a well-known antioxidant. It has been described that polyphenols present in the pomegranate extract have scavenger activity that can have a beneficial effect in preventing ovarian oxidative stress [54,55]. Importantly, numerous reports have shown a relationship between increased ROS and inflammatory factors such as IL1-β, which are intimately linked to ovarian aging [56,57].…”

Lifestyle management in polycystic ovary syndrome – beyond diet and physical activity

“…Two systematic reviews published after guideline inception support altered carbohydrate intake to improve intermediate markers of PCOS [55,56], finding that altering carbohydrate type, as opposed to content, is preferable to better manage PCOS [55]. RCTs [57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72] and pre-post intervention studies [73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80] demonstrate that following a low GI/GL diet for at least eight weeks significantly reduces WC [55,73,74] and BMI when compared to high GI/GL [56] or a regular diet [73][74][75][76], although levels of weight loss are generally comparable to other dietary compositions [59,60,72,74]. These reductions are proposed to be a result of decreased hunger, which may reduce energy intake and make it easier to follow dietary recommendations in the long-term [78,[81][82][83][84].…”

“…Studies examining specific food items in relation to PCOS outcomes, including raw onions [65], concentrated pomegranate juice [69,[113][114][115] and flaxseed powder [70,116] have yielded largely inconsistent results. A core limitation of these single food studies is that foods are never consumed alone within the diet, omitting the influence of the dietary matrix and the interactions that occur amongst dietary constituents within meals.…”