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Abstract

Objective: This study was planned over the hypothesis that pomegranate extract rich in ellagic acid used with minocyclinecould decrease its adverse effect and prolong its therapeutic use and efficacy.Study design and Setting: This experimental study was done in the department of anatomy, Basic Medical SciencesInstitute, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi,Methodology: We acquired 40 guinea pigs (male, adult, 450 – 550 gm), randomly divided them into 4 groups.Group Breceived 0.0003mg/g bodyweight of minocycline only, group C was given 0.0003mg/g bodyweight of minocycline with0.4mg/g bodyweight of pomegranate, group D was given 0.4mg/g bodyweight pomegranate only; with keeping group Awith no intervention at laboratory diet for 8 weeks. After the experimental period, the animals were sacrificed, H & E andDOPA-OXIDASE staining was done on harvested skin tissues for morphometric observations under light microscopy.Results: The results showed that minocycline induced reduction in mean thickness of epidermis and increased melaninpigment deposition. Mean number of melanocytes decreased with pomegranate use though the difference was insignificant(P-value > 0.05) but consistent and measurable.Conclusions: It was proven that by including pomegranate in our daily diet, the process of hyperpigmentation of skininduced by the broad spectrum tetracycline particularly minocycline, can be slow down by decreasing the activity oftyrosinase enzyme, thus it provides a novel pathway to fight against any other drug induced hyperpigmentation occurringdue to increase activity of tyrosinase enzyme.