Title : Impacts of supplementation with pomegranate on cardiovascular risk factors: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis
Abstract:
It has been suggested that supplementation with pomegranate (PO) may improve the risk factors related with cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS). This systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to assess the impact of PO supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors and CMS. A comprehensive search was implemented across various databases to identify appropriate RCTs that were published until January 2024. A random-effects model was applied for the meta-analysis of 53 RCTs with 2306 participants. The findings revealed that PO supplementation substantially reduced body weight (standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.14 kg, 95% CI: -0.25, -0.03; P=0.01), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (SMD: -0.39 mmHg, 95% CI: -0.59, -0.18; P<0.001), body mass index (BMI) (SMD: -0.17 kg/m2, 95% CI: -0.30, -0.04; P=0.01), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (SMD: -0.49 mmHg, 95% CI: -0.68, -0.31; P<0.001), serum fasting blood glucose (FBG) (SMD: -0.15 mg/dL, 95% CI: -0.26, -0.04; P=0.01), and total cholesterol (TC) (SMD: -0.12 mg/dL, 95% CI: -0.24, -0.00; P=0.04) while elevating highdensity lipoprotein (HDL) levels (SMD: 0.27 mg/dL, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.47; P<0.001) compared to control groups. No substantial changes were observed in waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), waist circumference (WC), serum values of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), alanine transaminase (ALT), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), insulin, and aspartate transferase (AST) levels between PO and placebo groups. PO consumption may improve specific risk factors associated with CMS. Further RCTs with extended durations and larger sample sizes are suggested to corroborate these findings.
