Punicalin exerts anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anti-hepatotoxic activities, it shows inhibitory activity on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC50 of 0.11 microg/ml (0.14 microM).

The edema after carrageenan injection is believed to be biphasic in nature.?The initial phase, beginning 1 hr after carrageenan administration, is due to the release of histamine and serotonin.?The second phase occurs 2 to 5 hr after carrageenan administration.??is induced by the release of bradykinin, protease, prostaglandin and lysosome ?.?It has been reported that the second phase of edema is sensitive to most clinically effective anti-inflammatory agents, such as indomethacin.?However, that treatment with punicalagin and punicalin is effective against both phases of inflammation induced by carrageenan.

Punicalagin and punicalin were the active components of T. catappa L., a hepatoprotective crude drug used in Southern Asia, and both found to exhibit great antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective effect on CC14- or acetaminophen-induced liver damages. Even if they had great antioxidant effects in smaller concentration in vitro, treatment with larger doses of punicalagin and punicalin yield liver cell damage in rats.?In studying their anti-inflammatory effects, similar results were also observed.

Edema in the left hind paw of rats was induced by injecting 0.05 ml of 1% (w/v) carrageenan into the limb.?Animals were divided into six groups with eight animals in each group.?The drug test groups were treated with 5 or 10 mg/kg body weight of each component 1 hr before carrageenan injection.?The animals in the control group received saline.?Another group of rats was administered 5 mg/kg indomethacin as a standard anti-inflammatory drug.