Adjuvant pomegranate juice intake improves the inflammatory status of hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A randomized and placebo-controlled trial()

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pomegranate juice intake on the inflammatory status and complete blood count in hospitalized Covid-19 patients. METHODS: This randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial included 48 patients with two parallel arms. In addition to the standard care provided at the hospital, the patients consumed 500 mL of whole pomegranate juice (PJ) daily or a placebo for 14 days. Inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)) and complete blood count were determined at baseline and after the 14 days of intervention. RESULTS: At the end of the intervention, a significant decreased was observed in primary outcomes [mean difference (95 %CI)] including IL-6 [5.24(0.87–9.61)], CRP [23.19(11.93–34.44)] and ESR [10.52(1.54–19.50)] in the PJ group vs. before the intervention. In addition, significant changes were also observed in the some of the secondary outcomes, including neutrophils, lymphocytes, platelets, platelets-to-lymphocyte(PLR) and neutrophils-to-lymphocyte (NLR) ratios (p < 0.05) in the PJ group compared to before the intervention. At the end of the intervention period, the mean change of IL-6 [− 7.09(−12.21 to − 1.96)], white blood cells [− 3.09(− 6.14 to − 0.05)], neutrophils [− 9.12(−18.08 to −0.15)], lymphocyte [7.05(0.17–13.92)], platelets [− 94.54(− 139.33 to − 49.75)], PLR [− 15.99(− 29.31 to − 2.67)], blood oxygen saturation [1.75(0.13–3.37)] and MCV [0.31(− 0.25 to 0.88)] levels were significantly different between groups while no difference was observed between the two groups in other blood indices. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that pomegranate juice intake might slightly improve the inflammatory status and CBC outcomes of COVID-19 patients and it may be beneficial.