There’s more research to support pom’s anti-carcinogen claims, although the study has been done in rats. But, lab rat testing at U.C.L.A. indicates that natural chemicals in pomegranate juice may slow the growth of prostate cancer. The key cancer-fighting chemicals, called ellagitannins, are also found in strawberries, raspberries and muscadine grapes. Scientists theorize that when someone drinks pomegranate juice, the juice releases ellagitannins, which get digested into chemicals called urolithins, which may fight prostate cancer. The researchers tested pomegranate juice against human prostate cancer cells grafted into male mice. The prostate tumors grew more slowly in the mice that got the pomegranate juice orally or by injection, compared with mice that got the placebo. It looks like pomegranate ellagitannins may slow, but not totally destroy, prostate cancer in mice. More studies are needed to see if pomegranate juice works the same way in people. In the interim, more brands of pom juice are popping up every day, and they’re delicious.
