Punica granatum L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 108-109

Punica granatum L.

Names.

Myanmar: thale. English: pomegranate.

Range.

Southeastern Europe to South Asia. Also naturalized, and widespread in cultivation.

Conservation status.

Least Concern [LC] ( IUCN 2017).

Uses.

Fruit: Used as an anthelmintic and astringent.

Notes.

The plant is widely cultivated for its edible fruit and medicinal uses: The bark is used in a gargle for sore throat, bad breath, and as a wash for nosebleed (for the first two illnesses a decoction of the rind is used); a decoction of tender leaves serves as a gargle and another of the leaves and roots is drunk as a remedy for irregular menses; a plaster of the crushed leaves is applied to itch; crushed stem is similarly used; the fruit is rich in tannin (and thus astringent); a decoction of the rinds or fruit is used for diarrhea and dysentery and may also be applied as a wash or an injection against hemorrhoid and leucorrhea; the buds, flowers, and bark of the flowers mixed with sesame oil makes a dressing for burns; the fruit is both bechic and laxative; the root bark is used throughout the East as a specific for tapeworm, and is also anthelmintic against other intestinal worms ( Perry 1980).

The medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Medicinal uses of the species in China are discussed by Duke and Ayensu (1985).

Chemical constituents, pharmacological action, and medicinal use of this species in Indian Ayurveda are discussed in detail by Kapoor (1990). Indigenous medicinal uses of this species in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) are described by Dagar and Singh (1999).

The bark contains the alkaloids pelletierine, isopelletierine, methylpelletierine, pseudopelletierine, and considerable tannin; it has also been reported that the plant has a bacteriostatic effect ( Perry 1980). Seeds and leaves of Punica granatum contain the hepatotoxic compound punicalagin, an oestrogenic chemical known as oestrone, and a form of pelletierine which is used for the expulsion of tapeworms ( Lan et al.1998).

The chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and traditional medicinal uses of this plant on a worldwide basis are discussed in detail by Ross (1999). A pharmacognostical profile including medicinal uses of this plant in Africa is given in Iwu (1993). Data on the propagation, seed treatment and agricultural management of this species are given by Katende et al. (1995). Details of the active chemical compounds, effects, herbal usage and pharmacological literature of this plant are given in Fleming (2000).

References.

Nordal (1963), Perry (1980).