An analytical chemistry approach to unlocking wider health benefits of pomegranate fruit

Abstract

Pomegranate is one of the most powerful foods for overall good health with most of the beneficial health effects due to the polyphenolic compounds contained in the fruit. Besides its traditional food industry applications, pomegranate has great potential for nutraceuticals, cosmetics and dyes. Pomegranate is an emerging industry in Australia with great export potential. The bioactive content varies between the different parts of the fruit and is also influenced by cultivar, growing region, maturity and cultivation practice. The objective of this project was to monitor a range of bioactive compounds present in pomegranate and the fruit processing waste streams. Australian and the USA grown fruit and commercial processed products were analysed. On dry weight basis, husks of fresh fruit had higher antioxidant capacity (AOX) and total ellagic acid (TEA) than its juice or aril residues. The total phenolic content (TPC) of husks was higher than the juice followed by its aril residues. The commercial pomegranate extract product had the highest AOX, TEA and TPC among tested samples. Anthocyanins were higher in fresh fruit juice than in commercial juice and freeze-dried samples, but not detectable in oven-dried samples. Pomegranate seed oil samples ranged between 79.5- 90.2% poly-unsaturated fatty acid content. The study details will be discussed at the conference. The outcomes from this project funded by Agri-Science Queensland Innovation Opportunity of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries will provide much needed data on the levels of bioactives in Australian grown pomegranate, enabling the Australian pomegranate industry to make informed choices regarding breeding programs, consumer/market research and product development.