El extracto de semilla de granada podría reducir las césareas
Ayer, 23 abril 2010, 17.24
En concreto, las pruebas en laboratorio con extracto de semilla de granada, con altos niveles de beta-sitosterol, sobre muestras de tejido uterino de rata se centraron en investigar como el útero trabaja y qué ocurre cuando no se contrae con normalidad.
El objetivo es que “las mujeres que experimentan problemas durante el parto no tengan que ser sometidas a cirugía para tener un bebé sano“, explicó el profesor Sue Wray, del departamento de Fisiología de la Universidad de Liverpool.
De los 500.000 nacimientos que se producen en España cada año, aproximadamente la cuarta parte son por cesárea y de éstas, una tercera parte serían “técnicamente prescindibles”, según los expertos.
En este sentido, los investigadores añadieron el extracto a muestras de tejido de útero de ratas y encontraron que las células musculares aumentaron su actividad gracias a las propiedades de este fruto, del cual España es el principal productor mundial.
“Este trabajo sugiere que ello es debido a un aumento del calcio, necesario para que cualquier músculo se contraiga, pero que por lo general es estimulado por hormonas, impulsos nerviosos y algunos fármacos”, dijo Sajeera Kupittayanant, del Instituto de Ciencia de Suranaree (Tailandia).
“El siguiente paso es investigar como el beta-sitosterol del extracto de granada puede aumentar el nivel de calcio, pero podría ser un paso adelante significativo en identificar nuevos tratamientos de los partos disfuncionales”, apuntó.
LA GRANADA EN LA ANTIGÜEDAD Y LAS DIOSAS
La noticia no me sorprendió, ya que la grnada era muy conocida y usada en el mundo antiguo.
El granado (Punica granatum) es un arbusto frutal caducifolio que puede alcanzar de 5 a 8 m de altura y cuyo fruto es la granada(Wikipwdia).
El nombre del género, Punica deriva de fenicios, quienes fueron unos difusores activos de su cultivo, en parte por razones de tipo religioso. El nombre de la especie granatum deriva del adjetivo del latín granatus, que significa ‘con granos’ (debido a las semillas del fruto/grana: el arma granada más tarde derivaría del nombre de la fruta). Sin embargo, en el Latín clásico el nombre de la especie era malum punicum ó malum granatum, en donde “malum” es manzana. Esto ha influido en el nombre pomegranate (en inglés), que se le da en muchos idiomas (ej. alemán Granatapfel, manzana con semillas). Incluso “pomegranate” tiene este mismo significado; pomum es el nombre en latín para manzana.
Otra raíz muy extendida para “granada” es la egipcia y la semítica rmn, encontrándose en el antiguo egipcio, y en el hebreo rimmôn, y en el árabe rummân, esta raíz ha pasado del árabe a otro gran número de lenguas, incluida el portugués (romã).
Se sabe del cultivo de la granada, desde hace al menos 5000 años en Asia occidental y en el Norte de África; se encontraba en los jardines pensiles de Babilonia y en los bajorrelieves egipcios. Los antiguos egipcios preparaban con su jugo un vino ligero con sabor a frambuesa.
La granada simbolizaba en el mundo antiguo el amor conyugal y la unión sexual y la fecundidad y era la fruta de Afrodita- Ithar y Hera ,ya que era la diosa del matrimonio y la protectora de las mujeres casadas y sus problemas, uno de los cuales era el parto.
Así pues. las mujers antiguas YA SABÍAN lo que ahora los médicos e investigadores han descubierto.
en otra ciudad de Llerena (Badajoz), también es patrona la Virgen de la Granada, me llama la atención esta similitud y el parecido sonoro de sus nombres, Guillena y Llerena
En Fuente De Cantos (Badajoz), está la Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Granada, la imagen de la virgen, de estilo gótico y realizada en 1576, era la Patrona de esta ciudad, hasta que fue sustituida en el siglo XVIII por la Virgen de la Hermosa. En la capilla del bautismo, se encuentra la pila bautismal, del siglo XVI, renacentista, donde se bautizó a Zurbarán en 1598.
En Cantillana (Sevilla), la Virgen de la Granada presidio el Altar Mayor
y la imagen de la Virgen de la Granada fue quitada del altar mayor sobre 1850, por una turbia historia, esta imagen de la virgen de la Granada (joya del siglo XVI) se coloco en un altar a los pies de una de las naves del templo, en el lugar donde hoy está Santa Teresa; en 1936 con el saqueo de la iglesia fue destruida.
Por ultimo en la Catedral de Sevilla y en la capilla de Scala, esta el relieve de barro cocido vidriado denominado La Virgen de la Granada, en el que figura la Virgen con el Niño, al que le ofrece una granada.
Wikipedia en inglés(algo diferente)
The pomegranate is native to the region of Persia and the Himalayan ranges of India, and has been cultivated in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North India, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Mediterranean region for several millennia.
In Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, there are wild pomegranate groves outside of ancient abandoned settlements. The cultivation of the pomegranate has a long history in Transcaucasia, where decayed remains of pomegranates dating back to 1000 BC have been found. The Kur-Araz lowland is the largest area in this region where pomegranate is cultivated. Carbonized exocarp of the fruit has been identified in Early Bronze Age levels of Jericho, as well as Late Bronze Age levels of Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus and Tiryns. A large, dry pomegranate was found in the tomb of Djehuty, the butler of Queen Hatshepsut; Mesopotamian cuneiform records mention pomegranates from the mid-Third millennium BC onwards. It is also extensively grown in South China and in Southeast Asia, whether originally spread along the route of the Silk Road or brought by sea traders.
Hipócrates recomendaba el jugo de la granada contra la fiebre y como fortificante contra la enfermedad en Llombay (provincia de Valencia) .
Los romanos conocieron la granada gracias a los fenicios que la trajeron de Fenicia (aproximadamente en el actual Líbano) a Roma, de ahí su nombre científico de Punica.
La Biblia hace referencia en numerosas ocasiones a este fruto, y siempre en su defensa.
Fueron los bereberes quienes trajeron la fruta a Europa, y la ciudad de Granada, fundada en el siglo X, recibió su nombre a partir de esta fruta.
Muchos pueblos han visto la granada como un símbolo de amor, de fertilidad y de prosperidad :
- Según la mitología griega, el primer granado fue plantado por Afrodita, la diosa griega del amor y de la belleza, mientras que el dios del infierno Hades, le ofreció su fruto a la bella Perséfone para seducirla.
- En Java, está asociada a ciertos ritos que acompañan el embarazo.
- Según Shakespeare, bajo su follaje se ocultó Romeo para cantarle una serenata a Julieta.
- En China, se tiene la costumbre de ofrecerle una granada a los recién casados como auspicios de una descendencia numerosa (el color rojo de esta fruta es considerado por la tradición china un color que atrae la buena fortuna).
- En el Islam se considera al granado como uno de los árboles del Paraíso conforme a referencias coránicas y de las tradiciones del profeta Muhammad o Mahoma.
Prominence in Ayurvedic medicine
In the Indian subcontinent’s ancient Ayurveda system of medicine, the pomegranate has extensively been used as a source of traditional remedies for thousands of years.
The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites.The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and classified as a bitter-astringent (pitta or fire) component under the Ayurvedic system, and considered a healthful counterbalance to a diet high in sweet-fatty (kapha or earth) components. The astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts and treating hemorrhoids.Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as eyedrops as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.
Nutrients and phytochemicals
Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult’s daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and antioxidant polyphenols.
Pomegranates are listed as high-fiber in some charts of nutritional value. That fiber, however, is entirely contained in the seeds which also supply unsaturated oils. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber, oils and micronutrients.
The most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice are the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid binds with a carbohydrate. Punicalagins are unique pomegranate tannins with free-radical scavenging properties in laboratory experiments and with potential human effects. Punicalagins are absorbed into the human body and may have dietary value as antioxidants, but conclusive proof of efficacy in humans has not yet been shown.
Other phytochemicals include polyphenols catechins, gallocatechins, and anthocyanins such as prodelphinidins, delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin. The ORAC (antioxidant capacity) of pomegranate juice was measured at 2,860 units per 100 grams.
Many food and dietary supplement makers have found advantages of using pomegranate phenolic extracts as ingredients in their products instead of the juice. One of these extracts is ellagic acid, which may become bioavailable only after parent molecule punicalagins are metabolized. However, ingested ellagic acid from pomegranate juice does not accumulate in the blood in significant quantities and is rapidly excreted. Accordingly, ellagic acid from pomegranate juice does not appear to be biologically important in vivo.
Potential health benefits
As with many fruits and vegetables, great claims have been made for the health-giving properties of the pomegranate, and some of these claims are backed by studies. However, very few of these studies are conducted on humans in a properly controlled, randomized, double blind manner. Most studies to date have been conducted in vitro, in no way implying similar effects occur from eating the fruit.
In preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies, juice of the pomegranate was effective in reducing heart disease risk factors, including LDL oxidation, macrophage oxidative status, and foam cell formation, all of which are steps in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
In a limited study of hypertensive patients, consumption of pomegranate juice for two weeks was shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by inhibiting serum angiotensin-converting enzyme. Juice consumption may also inhibit viral infections while pomegranate extracts have antibacterial effects against dental plaque.
While one study showed that, in a test tube, extracts of the fruit can inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cells, no studies have shown that eating pomegranates has any effect on the development of breast cancer in humans.
Despite these human studies being too preliminary for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a health claim on product labels, manufacturers and marketers of pomegranate juice have liberally used evolving research results for product promotion, especially for putative antioxidant health benefits. In February 2010, the FDA issued a warning letter to one such manufacturer, POM Wonderful, for using published literature to make illegal claims of unproven antioxidant and anti-disease benefits.
Clinical trial rationale and activity
Metabolites of pomegranate juice ellagitannins localize specifically in the prostate gland, colon, and intestinal tissues of mice,leading to clinical studies of pomegranate juice or fruit extracts for efficacy against several diseases.
In 2009, 20 clinical trials were registered with the National Institutes of Health to examine effects of pomegranate extracts or juice consumption on diseases shown below
- prostate cancer
- prostatic hyperplasia
- rhinovirus infection (completed, July 2008)
- common cold (completed, June, 2007)
- oxidative stress in diabetic hemodialysis
- coronary artery disease
- infant brain injury
- hemodialysis for kidney disease
Exodus 28:33–34 directed that images of pomegranates be woven onto the hem of the me’il (“robe of the ephod”), a robe worn by the Hebrew High Priest. 1 Kings 7:13–22 describes pomegranates depicted on the capitals of the two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) which stood in front of the temple King Solomon built in Jerusalem. It is said that Solomon designed his coronet based on the pomegranate’s “crown” (calyx). Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah. For this reason and others, many Jews eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah. However, the actual number of seeds varies with individual fruits. It is also a symbol of fruitfulness. The pomegranate is one of the few images which appear on ancient coins of Judea as a holy symbol, and today many Torah scrolls are stored while not in use with a pair of decorative hollow silver “pomegranates” (rimmonim) placed over the two upper scroll handles. Some Jewish scholars believe that it was the pomegranate that was the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. Pomegranate is one of the Seven Species (Hebrew: שבעת המינים, Shiv’at Ha-Minim), the types of fruits and grains enumerated in the Hebrew Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8) as being special products of the Land of Israel. The pomegranate is mentioned in the Bible many times, including this quote from the Songs of Solomon, “Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.” – Song of Solomon 4:3.
Columna del Heraio de Samos
The wild pomegranate did not occur in the Aegean area in Neolithic times. It originated in eastern Iran and came to the Aegean world along the same cultural pathways that brought the goddess whom the Anatolians worshipped as Cybele and the Mesopotamians as Ishtar.
The myth of Persephone, the chthonic goddess of the Underworld, also prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, could not leave the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend six months in the Underworld every year. During these six months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth. This became an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Persephona depicts Persephone holding the fatal fruit. It should be noted that the number of seeds that Persephone ate varies, depending on which version of the story is told. The number of seeds she is said to have eaten ranges from three to seven, which accounts for just one barren season if it is just three or four seeds, or two barren seasons (half the year) if she ate six or seven seeds. There is no set number.
The pomegranate also evoked the presence of the Aegean Triple Goddess who evolved into the Olympian Hera, who is sometimes represented offering the pomegranate, as in the Polykleitos’ cult image of the Argive Heraion (see below). According to Carl A. P. Ruck and Danny Staples, the chambered pomegranate is also a surrogate for the poppy’s narcotic capsule, with its comparable shape and chambered interior. On a Mycenaean seal illustrated in Joseph Campbell’s Occidental Mythology 1964, figure 19, the seated Goddess of the double-headed axe (the labrys) offers three poppy pods in her right hand and supports her breast with her left. She embodies both aspects of the dual goddess, life-giving and death-dealing at once. The Titan Orion was represented as “marrying” Side, a name that in Boeotia means “pomegranate”, thus consecrating the primal hunter to the Goddess. Other Greek dialects call the pomegranate rhoa; its possible connection with the name of the earth goddess Rhea, inexplicable in Greek, proved suggestive for the mythographer Karl Kerenyi, who suggested that the consonance might ultimately derive from a deeper, pre-Indo-European language layer.
Pomegranate — opened up
In the 6th century BC, Polykleitos took ivory and gold to sculpt the seated Argive Hera in her temple. She held a scepter in one hand and offered a pomegranate, like a ‘royal orb’, in the other. “About the pomegranate I must say nothing,” whispered the traveller Pausanias in the 2nd century, “for its story is something of a mystery.” Indeed, in the Orion story we hear that Hera cast pomegranate-Side (an ancient city in Antalya) into dim Erebus — “for daring to rival Hera’s beauty”, which forms the probable point of connection with the older Osiris/Isis story.
Since the ancient Egyptians identified the Orion constellation in the sky as Sah the “soul of Osiris”, the identification of this section of the myth seems relatively complete. Hera wears, not a wreath nor a tiara nor a diadem, but clearly the calyx of the pomegranate that has become her serrated crown. The pomegranate has a calyx shaped like a crown. In Jewish tradition it has been seen as the original “design” for the proper crown. In some artistic depictions, the pomegranate is found in the hand of Mary, mother of Jesus.
Within the sanctuary of Hera at Foce del Sele, Magna Graecia, is a chapel devoted to the Madonna del Granato, “Our Lady of the Pomegranate”, “who by virtue of her epithet and the attribute of a pomegranate must be the Christian successor of the ancient Greek goddess Hera”, observes the excavator of the Heraion of Samos, Helmut Kyrieleis.
In modern times the pomegranate still holds strong symbolic meanings for the Greeks. On important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar, such as the Presentation of the Virgin Mary and on Christmas Day, it is traditional to have at the dinner table “polysporia”, also known by their ancient name “panspermia,” in some regions of Greece. In ancient times they were offered to Demeter and to the other gods for fertile land, for the spirits of the dead and in honor of compassionate Dionysus. When one buys a new home, it is conventional for a house guest to bring as a first gift a pomegranate, which is placed under/near the ikonostasi (home altar) of the house, as a symbol of abundance, fertility and good luck. Pomegranates are also prominent at Greek weddings and funerals. When Greeks commemorate their dead, they make kollyva as offerings, which consist of boiled wheat, mixed with sugar and decorated with pomegranate. It is also traditional in Greece to break a pomegranate on the ground at weddings and on New Years. Pomegranate decorations for the home are very common in Greece and sold in most homegoods stores.
Pomegranates are a motif often found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric of vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork. Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, often in the hands of the Virgin Mary or the infant Jesus. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, pomegranate seeds may be used in kolyva, a dish prepared for memorial services, as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom.
According to the Qur’an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of Paradise (55:068). The Qur’an also mentions (6:99, 6:141) pomegranates twice as examples of good things God creates.
Although Armenia’s main fruit is the Apricot many villages east and north of Yerevan grow and export pomegranates to countries such as Iran and Georgia, and from Iran they can be exported to Dubai and other countries in the Middle East. Armenians have also used pomegrantes in most of their recipes, one in particular is an Persian dish called Fesanjun. This consists of pomegrante puree, crushed walnuts, and duck or chicken meat.
Detalle de la Virgen de la granada, Botichelli
Every year a cultural festival is held in Goychay, Azerbaijan known as Pomegranate Festival. The festival features Azerbaijani fruit-cuisine mainly the pomegranates from Goychay. At the festival, a parade is held with traditional Azerbaijani dances and Azerbaijani music.
Pomegranate Festival usually takes place in October.
In Hinduism, the pomegranate (Sanskrit: Beejpur, literally: replete with seeds) symbolizes prosperity and fertility, and is associated with both Bhoomidevi (the earth goddess) and Lord Ganesha (who is also called Bijapuraphalasakta, or the one fond of the many-seeded fruit).
In Hindi, the pomegranate is called by its Persian name of “anaar”. ‘Bhagwa’ is a variety of pomegranate that is widely available in India. Every part of the plant [root, bark, flowers, fruit, leaves] is used for medicinal purposes in Ayurveda.
In Vietnam, the pomegranate is called thạch lựu and the pomegranate flower is the symbol of summer. The famous Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Du wrote in “The Tale of Kieu”:
Đầu tường lửa lựu lập lòe đơm bông. (Over the wall, the flames of pomegranate flicker in blossom.)
Coat of arms of Bogotá.
- The pomegranate is the symbol and heraldic device of the city of Granada in Andalusia, Spain.
- Pomegranate is one of the symbols of Armenia, representing fertility, abundance and marriage.
- It is the official logo of many cities in Turkey.
- Pomegranate juice is used for natural dyeing of non-synthetic fabrics.
- Although not native to China, Korea or Japan, the pomegranate is widely grown there and many cultivars have been developed. It is widely used for bonsai because of its flowers and for the unusual twisted bark that older specimens can attain.
- Balaustines, the red rose-like flowers of the pomegranate, taste bitter and may be used as an astringent in folk medicine. The term “balaustine” (Latin: balaustinus) is also used for a pomegranate-red color.
- In Mexico, pomegranate seeds are an essential ingredient of chiles en nogada, a favored food symbolizing the red component of the national flag.
- Kandahar is famous in Afghanistan for its high quality pomegranates.
- Pomegranate is displayed on coins from the ancient city of Side, Pamphylia.
- Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska employs the pomegranate with its pulpy interior and lustrous, juicy seeds as a symbol of the promise of a new relationship with a man with whom the narrator has just fallen in love in her short story “El recado.” (“The Message”)
- Pomegranate is the name of a UK-based online poetry magazine for writers under thirty.
To the Romans, the pomegranate signified marriage, and brides decked themselves in pomegranate wreaths.
In Greek myth, Orion’s wife was very beautiful, even rivaling the beauty of Zeus’s wife, Hera. For her daring to compete with Hera, her children were killed and she was persuaded to believe herself the culprit. In agony, she threw herself from a cliff. The location of her blood was where the first pomegranate tree grew.
In the modern-day traditions of many Greeks, it is customary to adorn the holiday table with pomegranates. The Greeks consider the pomegranate to be a symbol of abundance; a fruit that spills over in plenitude and good luck. They are set out in honor of the fertile land and its bounty. Pomegranates also make an appearance during weddings, funerals, and New Year celebrations.
- The pomegranate fruit was an emblem in the coat of arms of Catherine of Aragon (1485 – 1536).
- Catalina de Aragón, reina de Inglaterra
- She was the widow of Arthur, Prince of Wales but, more memorably, was King Henry VIII’s first wife. However, when Henry and Catherine could not produce a male heir, the King eventually married Anne Boleyn. As Queen, Boleyn’s first decree designated a new coat of arms, showing a white falcon pecking at a pomegranate.
Demeter, Persefone y Hades
- The Carrack, Peter Pomegranate was named by Henry VIII after his first wife and Peter the Apostle.