Studies have shown that extracts of the fruit can reduce inflammation in the body, one of the most common triggers of the disease.
The team behind the study, published in the Journal of Inflammation, believe that pomegranate could have the same effect on humans.
If true, it could point the way to a new treatment which could avoid the side effects of current anti-inflammatory drugs, which can include nausea and bleeding in the stomach.
The scientists, from Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, gave extracts of the fruit, equivalent to a 175ml tumbler of pomegranate juice, to rabbits.
They then tested the level of activity of certain proteins known to trigger inflammation in the animal's blood.
They found that the pomegranate extracts had inhibited the activity of many of the proteins, some by almost half.
It also raised levels of antioxidants, which can also reduce inflammation, in their blood system.
Previous experiments had shown that in laboratory tests pomegranate extract could reduce inflammation in samples of animal tissue, but it was not known whether the fruit could produce the same effects in living creatures.
The researchers believe that the study indicates that eating pomegranate or drinking the juice of the fruit could have a beneficial impact on arthritis, which affects more than 8 million people in Britain.
Tariq Haqqi, who led the study, said such a treatment could also avoid the side effects that can come with long-term use of current anti-inflammatory drugs.
However, he said that further research was needed on how well the extract is absorbed into the blood stream.
