Pomegranates and Tumor Suppression

Fall is pomegranate season! Here's why you should be eating (and drinking) more of these beautiful red "gems."  Researchers at the City of Hope found that pomegranates contain six compounds that may prevent breast cancer growth by blocking aromatase, an enzyme known to play a key role in most breast cancers. Aromatase converts androgens to estrogens, and most breast cancers depend on estrogen to grow.  “By suppressing the production of estrogen, urolithin B and other phytochemicals found in pomegranates can prevent hormone-responsive breast cancer tumors from growing,” said researcher, Shiuan Chen, Ph.D. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring plant compounds that may benefit health.  The other phytochemicals in pomegranates found to inhibit aromatase activity are urolithin A (UA), methylated UA, acetylated UB, methylated UB and UB sulfate.  Previous research has shown that pomegranate juice is rich in active antioxidants and its compounds may slow growth of human breast and prostate cancer cells.