Pomegranate (Punica granatum): a natural source for the development of therapeutic compositions of food supplements with anticancer activities based on electron acceptor molecular characteristics

Abstract

Background: Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies, in addition to clinical data, demonstrate that pomegranate juice can prevent or slow-down the progression of some types of cancers.  Despite the well-documented effect of pomegranate ingredients on neoplastic changes, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying this phenomenon remains elusive.

Methods: For the study of pomegranate ingredients the electron-ion interaction potential (EIIP) and the average quasi valence number (AQVN) were used. These molecular descriptors can be used to describe the long-range intermolecular interactions in biological systems and can identify substances with strong electron-acceptor properties. In this study, candidate human proteins interacting with pomegranate flavonoids have been analyzed by the informational spectrum method (ISM). This represents a virtual spectroscopy method for studying protein molecular interactions.

Results: Our analysis indicates that the anti-cancer properties of pomegranate juice can be ascribed to the strong electron-acceptor properties of its chemical ingredients. This analysis also suggests that pomegranate flavonoids inhibit the “NF-kappaB” (NF-kB) pathway, which plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cancer.

Conclusion: The results offer a possible explanation for an important molecular mechanism underlying the anticancer activity of pomegranate ingredients, which could also serve as a basis for the development of new therapeutic compositions of food supplements with pomegranate-like anticancer properties.

Key words: cancer, pomegranate, flavonoids, food supplement, informational spectrum method