Antiparasitic Potential of Bioactive Compounds From Punica granatum: Preventive and Therapeutic Effects

Diseases caused by parasites are a global public health problem. Due to their heterogeneity and diversity, they can affect various hosts, and some diseases are considered zoonotic. Therapeutic control in parasitic diseases has lost its effectiveness over the last decades. The factors associated with therapeutic failure include drug resistance, nonadherence to treatment due to the presence of adverse effects, and reinfections due to inadequate sanitary conditions. Therefore, a strategy to search for new treatment alternatives is the use of natural compounds. The pomegranate is a plant that has multiple biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial. It is highlighted that the use of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of pomegranate, mainly from the peel, has greater activity against clinically relevant pathogenic parasites. The use of Punica granatum as a preventive, monotherapy, or adjuvant agent demonstrates its protective and restorative capacity in the damage produced by various parasitoses. These effects are mainly attributable to phenolic compounds, principally ellagitannins and ellagic acids. Among these molecules, punicalagin, punicalin, luteolin, epigallocatechin gallate, gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, catechin, and quercetin stand out. The identification and study of these candidates is a promising alternative to complement the arsenal of available antiparasitic drugs. In this research, the antiparasitic activity of pomegranate is summarized.