Ellagic acid
Encyclopedia
Ellagic acid is a natural phenol
antioxidant
found in numerous fruit
s and vegetable
s including blackberries
, raspberries
, strawberries
, cranberries
, walnut
s, pecan
s, pomegranate
s, wolfberry
and other plant
food
s. The antiproliferative and antioxidant properties of ellagic acid have spurred preliminary research into the potential health benefits of ellagic acid consumption.
known as ellagitannin
s. These are glucoside
s which are readily hydrolyzed
by water to regenerate ellagic acid when the plants are eaten. The highest levels of ellagic acid are found in strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, and grapes.
Ellagic acid is the dilactone
of hexahydroxydiphenic acid
.
First discovery made by chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul
in oak galls and was more closely examined by Henri Braconnot
in 1831. Nierenstein prepared this substance from algarobilla and certain other fruits. Löwe was the first person to synthesize ellagic acid by heating gallic acid
with arsenic acid
.
properties in a number of in vitro
and small-animal models. The antiproliferative properties of ellagic acid are due to its ability to directly inhibit the DNA binding of certain carcinogens, including nitrosamine
s and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
s. As with other polyphenol antioxidant
s, ellagic acid has a chemoprotective effect in cellular models by reducing oxidative stress. However, it is antagonistic with catechins
, such as those found in tea.
These properties have generated interest in potential human health benefits from the consumption of ellagic acid. However, very little study of these proposed benefits has been reported as of 2010. A small randomized controlled trial
involving 19 patients with carotid artery stenosis
found that pomegranate juice
, which is high in ellagic acid, appeared to reduce blood pressure
and carotid artery wall thickness. A 2005 controlled study of 48 patients undergoing chemotherapy
for prostate cancer
found that ellagic acid supplementation reduced the rate of chemotherapy-associated neutropenia
(though there were no cases of severe neutropenia in either the ellagic acid or control group). Ellagic acid supplementation did not improve overall or progression-free survival of patients with prostate cancer in this trial.
Despite the very preliminary state of evidence supporting health benefits in humans, ellagic acid has been marketed as a dietary supplement
with a range of claimed benefits against cancer, heart disease, and other medical problems. Ellagic acid has been identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
as a "Fake Cancer Cure Consumers Should Avoid". A number of U.S.-based sellers of dietary supplements have received Warning Letter
s from the Food and Drug Administration for promoting ellagic acid with claims that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
.
Natural phenol
Natural phenols, bioavailable phenols, plant phenolics, low molecular weight phenols or phenoloids are a class of natural products. They are small molecules containing one or more phenolic group. These molecules are smaller in size than polyphenols, containing less than 12 phenolic groups...
antioxidant
Antioxidant
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons or hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions. When...
found in numerous fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s including blackberries
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
, raspberries
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
, strawberries
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
, cranberries
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
, walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
s, pecan
Pecan
The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
s, pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
s, wolfberry
Wolfberry
Wolfberry, commercially called goji berry, is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum and L. chinense , two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae...
and other plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
s. The antiproliferative and antioxidant properties of ellagic acid have spurred preliminary research into the potential health benefits of ellagic acid consumption.
Natural occurrence and history
Plants produce ellagic acid and convert it to a form of tanninTannin
A tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
known as ellagitannin
Ellagitannin
The ellagitannins are a diverse class of hydrolyzable tannins, a type of polyphenol formed primarily from the oxidative linkage of galloyl groups in 1,2,3,4,6-Pentagalloyl glucose...
s. These are glucoside
Glucoside
A glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes....
s which are readily hydrolyzed
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...
by water to regenerate ellagic acid when the plants are eaten. The highest levels of ellagic acid are found in strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, and grapes.
Ellagic acid is the dilactone
Lactone
In chemistry, a lactone is a cyclic ester which can be seen as the condensation product of an alcohol group -OH and a carboxylic acid group -COOH in the same molecule...
of hexahydroxydiphenic acid
Hexahydroxydiphenic acid
Hexahydroxydiphenic acid is a component of some ellagitannins. Ellagic acid is the dilactone of hexahydroxydiphenic acid....
.
First discovery made by chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul
Michel Eugène Chevreul
Michel Eugène Chevreul was a French chemist whose work with fatty acids led to early applications in the fields of art and science. He is credited with the discovery of margaric acid and designing an early form of soap made from animal fats and salt...
in oak galls and was more closely examined by Henri Braconnot
Henri Braconnot
Henri Braconnot was a French chemist and pharmacist.He was born in Commercy, his father being a counsel at the local parliament...
in 1831. Nierenstein prepared this substance from algarobilla and certain other fruits. Löwe was the first person to synthesize ellagic acid by heating gallic acid
Gallic acid
Gallic acid is a trihydroxybenzoic acid, a type of phenolic acid, a type of organic acid, also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid, found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plants. The chemical formula is C6H23COOH. Gallic acid is found both free and as part of...
with arsenic acid
Arsenic acid
Arsenic acid is the chemical compound with the formula H3AsO4. More descriptively written as AsO3, this colorless acid is the arsenic analogue of phosphoric acid. Arsenate and phosphate salts behave very similarly. Arsenic acid as such has not been isolated, but only found in solution where it...
.
Proposed health benefits
Ellagic acid has antiproliferative and antioxidantAntioxidant
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons or hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions. When...
properties in a number of in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
and small-animal models. The antiproliferative properties of ellagic acid are due to its ability to directly inhibit the DNA binding of certain carcinogens, including nitrosamine
Nitrosamine
Nitrosamines are chemical compounds of the chemical structure R1N-N=O, some of which are carcinogenic.-Usages:Nitrosamines are used in manufacture of some cosmetics, pesticides, and in most rubber products. -Occurrences:...
s and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , also known as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons or polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, are potent atmospheric pollutants that consist of fused aromatic rings and do not contain heteroatoms or carry substituents. Naphthalene is the simplest example of a PAH...
s. As with other polyphenol antioxidant
Polyphenol antioxidant
A polyphenol antioxidant is a type of antioxidant containing a polyphenolic substructure. Numbering over 4,000 distinct species, many of these compounds have antioxidant activity in vitro but are unlikely to have antioxidant roles in vivo...
s, ellagic acid has a chemoprotective effect in cellular models by reducing oxidative stress. However, it is antagonistic with catechins
Flavan-3-ol
Flavan-3-ols are a class of flavonoids that use the 2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-3-ol skeleton. These compounds include the catechins and the catechin gallates....
, such as those found in tea.
These properties have generated interest in potential human health benefits from the consumption of ellagic acid. However, very little study of these proposed benefits has been reported as of 2010. A small randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trial
A randomized controlled trial is a type of scientific experiment - a form of clinical trial - most commonly used in testing the safety and efficacy or effectiveness of healthcare services or health technologies A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a type of scientific experiment - a form of...
involving 19 patients with carotid artery stenosis
Carotid artery stenosis
Carotid stenosis is a narrowing or constriction of the inner surface of the carotid artery, usually caused by atherosclerosis .-Signs and symptoms:...
found that pomegranate juice
Pomegranate juice
Pomegranate juice is made from the fruit of the pomegranate. It is used in cooking both as a fresh juice and as a concentrated syrup, particularly in Persian cuisine.-Possible health benefits and risks:...
, which is high in ellagic acid, appeared to reduce blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
and carotid artery wall thickness. A 2005 controlled study of 48 patients undergoing chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
found that ellagic acid supplementation reduced the rate of chemotherapy-associated neutropenia
Neutropenia
Neutropenia, from Latin prefix neutro- and Greek suffix -πενία , is a granulocyte disorder characterized by an abnormally low number of neutrophils, the most important type of white blood cell...
(though there were no cases of severe neutropenia in either the ellagic acid or control group). Ellagic acid supplementation did not improve overall or progression-free survival of patients with prostate cancer in this trial.
Despite the very preliminary state of evidence supporting health benefits in humans, ellagic acid has been marketed as a dietary supplement
Dietary supplement
A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
with a range of claimed benefits against cancer, heart disease, and other medical problems. Ellagic acid has been identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
as a "Fake Cancer Cure Consumers Should Avoid". A number of U.S.-based sellers of dietary supplements have received Warning Letter
FDA Warning Letter
The United States Food and Drug Adminstration defines a Warning Letter as "...a correspondence that notifies regulated industry about violations that FDA has documented during its inspections or investigations...
s from the Food and Drug Administration for promoting ellagic acid with claims that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act , is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. Senator from...
.
External links
- A Food-Based Approach to the Prevention of Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers - video lecture dedicated mainly to ellagic acid. Read by Dr. Gary D. Stoner from the Ohio State UniversityOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
Comprehensive Cancer CenterNCI-designated Cancer CenterNCI-designated Cancer Centers are a group of approximately 66 cancer research institutions in the United States supported by the National Cancer Institute....
. - Polyphenols as cancer chemopreventive agents, J. Cell Biochem Suppl. 1995'22:169-80