In ancient times, the Greeks and Egyptians used the fruit of the pomegranates to heal and revitalize the body. Then, Pomegranate was also known as the fruit of the gods, because of the belief and myth that the fruit could transform and heal a person’s body and mind to be closer to that entity, and a secret to beknownst only to them.
Until recently, scientific studies indicate that pomegranates have benefits far transcending ancient symbolism and leading them into the realm of true medical literature. Early on, a Reuters article dated Oct 29, 2003, reported, “that compounds found in fruits such as Pomegranates and Grapes may help protect against the changes that can lead to skin cancer”, researchers told a conference of the American Association of Cancer Research. These were proven by test on mice which demonstrated that these extracts can slow down or prevent the damage done to skin by chemicals and sunlight.
Like all other antioxidants such as Green Tea, Grapeseed and the Açaí berry; Pomegranate extract was found to help in mediating ultraviolet light damage. In other words, this meant that your skin attained the ability to be more resistance to damaging ultraviolet rays. By this, your skin may burn less or recover much more quickly than without it. Interesting enough, this was a phenomenon we were seeing early on with our first antioxidant product of Grapeseed creams and serums. Our clients were coming in after a day of sunning or going to areas such as Hawaii and telling us they weren’t getting burned as much with our product, compared to other times without it.
The reason for this protective factor, is that Pomegranate Extract is rich in polyphenols, a potent antioxidant also commonly found in Green Tea and other antioxidants. One of the most powerful of the Pomegranate polyphenols is Ellagic Acid, which has been shown to be promising in a study for it’s anti-cancer and healing benefits.
One study confirmed that Ellagic Acid effectively protected cells from damaging free radicals of ultraviolet light. In addition, it was found that other antioxidants in the fruit of the pomegranate combined synergistically with Ellagic Acid to greatly increase pomegranate’s potency as an antioxidant. In other words, it was found that this red fruit contained more than one antioxidant which worked together in a cascade effect to counteract the damage done to cells by chemicals, radiation and sunlight. It did this by significantly lowering the swelling in damaged skin tissue and further, decreased the overgrowth of unnecessary skin cells, which could turn cancerous.
In another study at the University of Wisconsin, a team tested pomegranate extract against a tumor causing chemical called TPA. In the skin of newborn mice. In the TPA treated group, all the mice developed tumors at 16 weeks; whereas the mice treated with Pomegranate extract only 30% exhibited tumors at the 16 week point. BioKorium has been always been on the cutting edge of Antioxidant development since 1994, interpreting and understanding what clinical studies reveal regarding the importance of certain fruit extracts and their relation to skin health.
At BioKorium we are proud to offer what we feel is the best handmade pomegranate fruit extract products in the form of facial creams and lotions formulated,developed and produced in small batches by Dr. Javier Moreno, PharmD, RPh , available since our conception 17 years ago.
