It is a bush or small tree, not more than 15 feet high, with pale, brownish bark. The buds and young shoots are red, the leaves opposite, lanceolate, entire, thick, glossy and almost evergreen. The flowers are large and solitary, the crimson petals alternating with the lobes of the calyx. The fruit is the size of an orange, having a thick, reddish-yellow rind, an acid pulp, and large quantities of seeds.

Anthelmintic (bark and fruit rind); astringent and antibacterial (bark. seed oil. leaf. flower and fruit rind); carminative (seed); diuretic. hypothermic and depresses the central nervous system (aerial part), antiviral, astringent, cardiac, demulcent, emmenagogue, refrigerant, stomachic, vermifuge.

Punica granatum
Health Benefits and Uses
Pomegranate
Plants for a Future
Granatum

Estrone, linoleic aid, malvidin pentose glycosides, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid (seed); punicalagin, punicalin, granatin B and ellagic acid (fruit rind); gallic acid, mannitol (pericarp); mannite (root bark); tannic acid (root, bark and flower); ascorbic acid, chlorogenic acid, citric acid, mallic acid, niacin, oxalic acid, protocatechuic acid, riboflavin, thiamin, ursolic acid (fruit); beta-sitosterol, betulinic acid, ellagic acid, ellagitannin (bark); corilagin (leaf); inulin (petiole); maslinic acid (flower); sorbitol (plant)

In dysentery and diarrhea (fruit rind and bark); as a vermifuge (root bark), as an injection in leucorrhoea, as a gargle in sore throat and in powder for intermittent fevers. It is used externally in the treatment of vaginal discharges, mouth sores and throat infections.

The pomegranate does not have a toxic effect on the human body. It is a very common fruit, with the exception that is has a higher concentration of vitamin C. Still, the products prepared from the bark of the stem and of the root may be poisonous, acting like nicotine on your body.

Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.