Herb library · Herb · Punica granatum
Pomegranate
A Middle Eastern fruit tree whose juice and extracts are sold for blood pressure, heart health, and blood sugar. Studies, mostly of the juice, suggest small effects on blood pressure and blood sugar that need confirming.
Traditional use
From the Middle East, now grown in the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and the southwestern United States. In traditional medicine it was used for intestinal parasites, diarrhea, and sore throat, taken by mouth, on the skin, and as a gargle or mouthwash. The root bark was a standard 19th-century remedy for tapeworm. Today pomegranate preparations are sold for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
Traditional energetics
Galenic (hot or cold, dry or moist)
Cold. Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 228 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Limited
Blood pressure: pomegranate juice or extract may help lower blood pressure; more research is needed to confirm it.
- Limited
Blood sugar: studies show pomegranate may lower blood glucose to a small extent.
- Limited
Cholesterol: studies of various pomegranate products have not shown clear effects on cholesterol or other blood fats.
- Insufficient
Other conditions: the limited research so far does not allow conclusions.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteThe juice is believed to be safe and the extract may be safe. The root, stem, and peel may not be safe in large amounts: they contain substances that can be harmful.
- NoteSide effects are uncommon; some people get digestive symptoms.
- AllergyAllergic reactions to pomegranate have been reported.
- PregnancyDrinking pomegranate juice in pregnancy or while breastfeeding may be safe; little is known about other forms or other parts of the plant.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Pomegranate is one of the oldest of drugs, having been used from time immemorial.”
“Dizziness, imperfect vision, sleepiness, or faintness, benumbing of the extremities, and occasionally convulsions have been produced by it.”
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, all around its hem; with bells of gold between and around them:
Pomegranate (Punica granatum), the plant on this page; the Hebrew rimmon matches its Arabic name (Tristram, 1898). Here the fruit is a pattern woven on the priest's robe. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 386 (opens in a new tab)
They came to the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it on a staff between two. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs.
Pomegranate (Punica granatum), the plant on this page, which is not disputed (Tristram, 1898). H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 386 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Pomegranate: Usefulness and Safety (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.