Pomegranate juice consumption increases GSH levels and reduces lipid and protein oxidation in human blood

The aim of the present study was the assessment of the antioxidant effects of pomegranate juice (PJ) consumption in humans. Thus, 14 healthy volunteers consumed PJ daily for a period of 15 days and the changes of oxidative stress markers in their blood were assessed at four different time points, immediately before the experiment (T1), after 15 days of juice administration (T2), one (T3) and three weeks (T4) after the interruption of PJ administration. The markers studied were total antioxidant capacity (TAC), levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), and protein carbonyls (CARE) measured in plasma, as well as reduced glutathione (GSH), and catalase activity (CAT) measured in erythrocytes. The MDA was reduced by 24.4% at T3 and CARB were reduced by 19.6% and 17.7% at T2 and T3, respectively, supporting the evidence that PJ consumption enhances the antioxidant status in humans by decreasing lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. Moreover, GSH levels were significantly increased (22.6%) at T2, indicating that PJ consumption improves the antioxidant mechanisms in erythrocytes by increasing GSH levels. Finally, it was shown that even a week after stopping PJ consumption some of its beneficial effects on antioxidant status still remained in the organism. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.