Efeito da suplementação de romã (Punica granatum L.) no metabolismo do óxido nítrico de praticantes de exercício físico aeróbico: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Currently Punica granatum L, known as pomegranate, has been introduced in the diet of the population due its therapeutic properties being able to act against several diseases and exerting anti-atherogenic, antioxidant, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory effects. Its fruit is rich in phenolic compounds, which give it numerous biological effects, among them, antioxidant activity. The aqueous extract obtained from the fruit has been suggested as an ergogenic aid due to the high concentration of polyphenols and nitrates, which are proposed to improve the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO), which in the vascular endothelium is responsible for maintaining tissue blood flow and oxygenation of the functioning skeletal muscle, intensifying the efficiency of oxygen use and, consequently, performance in aerobic exercise. This study aimed to analyze, through a systematic review, the influence of nitrate and nitrite on blood flow parameters, vessel diameter, and exhaustion time after aerobic exercise. The evidence available in randomized clinical trials and general intervention studies suggests a possible positive effect of Punica granatum supplementation on serum nitrate level, blood flow, vessel diameter, and exhaustion time in healthy individuals participating aerobic exercise. This supplementation may have a positive action on the increment of NO metabolism, thus favoring a possible clinical indication in the use of these outcomes with indirect markers of this increment. However, due to critical limiting factors of this systematic review, further well conducted primary studies are recommended to provide more scientific support to these inferences. We recommend that further studies implement methods for evaluating eligibility criteria during recruitment, report implementation of independent tests to assess the nutritional contents and compounds of interest of pomegranate according to the outcomes.