Effects of pomegranate juice consumption on inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Background: diabetes causes the increased concentration of circulatory cytokines as a result of inflammation. considering that pomegranate juice (pj) is known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of pj consumption on markers of inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes (t2d). materials and methods: in a randomized, double-blind clinical trial study, 50 patients with t2d (40-65 years old) were randomly assigned to one of two groups. participants in each group received either 250 ml/day pj or a control beverage for 12 weeks. biochemical markers including fasting plasma glucose (fpg), insulin and inflammatory markers were assayed on the baseline and follow-up blood samples. results: in all, 44 patients in two groups were included in the analysis: pj (n = 22) and placebo (n = 22). after 12 weeks of intervention, in the pj group, there were 32% and 30% significant decreases in plasma c-reactive protein (hs-crp) and interlukin-6, respectively (p < 0.05).the mean ± sd plasma interlukin-6 (7.1 ± 5.6 vs. 11.9 ± 14.4 mg/l) and hs-crp (1791 ± 1657 and 1953 ± 1561 ng/ml) concentrations in the pj group were significantly lower than the placebo group after intervention (p < 0.05). conclusion: pj consumption by patients with t2d does not affect fpg or the insulin resistance index (homa-ir), whereas it does reduce interlukin-6 and hs-crp concentrations in plasma. therefore, pj consumption may have an anti-inflammatory effect in patients with t2d.