Mesocarp and Exocarp of Laffan and Wonderful Pomegranate Varieties: By-Products as a Source of Ellagitannins
Mohamad Khatib1, Marzia Innocenti1, Camilla Giuliani1, Amal Al- Tamimi2, Annalisa Romani3, Nadia Mulinacci1*
Affiliation
- 1Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug and Child Health, Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Section, University of Florence, Via Ugo Schiff 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
- 2Biology Department of Ecology, Princess Noura University, Al Imam Abdullah Ibn Saud Ibn Abdul Aziz Road, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 3Department of Statistic, Informatics and Applications, “G. Parenti”, Viale Morgagni, 59, Florence Italy
Corresponding Author
Nadia Mulinacci, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug and Child Health, Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Section, University of Florence, Via Ugo Schiff 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy, E-mail: nadia.mulinacci@unifi.it
Citation
Khatib, M., et al. Mesocarp and Exocarp of Laffan and Wonderful Pomegranate Varieties: By-Products as A Source of Ellagitannins. (2017) J Food Nutr Sci 4(1): 60- 66.
Copy rights
© 2017 Mulinacci, N. This is an Open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Pomegranate peel (exocarp and mesocarp), which constitutes about 50% of the whole fresh fruit, is extensively used in folk medicine but discarded in large quantities as by-product, after the juice production. The objective was to valorize this by-product derived from Laffan and Wonderful varieties, by improving the knowledge on its composition and by applying sustainable extraction processes.
The extraction was performed separately on exocarp and mesocarp, using water at different temperatures, and 70% ethanol; the ellagitannins were determined by HPLC-DAD and MS- TOF. The polysaccharide fraction was extracted and determined by weight (yields). The profiles of mesocarp and exocarp separately of the two varieties were very similar and characterized by the same ellagitannins (ETs) of pomegranate juice. The highest ETs amount was obtained from mesocarp (140 - 150 mg/dried matter) via decoction and hydroalcoholic extraction. No ETs degradation was observed during decoction, α and β punicalagins were always 59 – 78 % of the total ETs. Decoction as a green process easy to apply can help to valorize these by-products as it is able to recover polysaccharides as well as ellagitannins. A Nutritional label was prepared for the whole dry decoction from Wonderful mesocarp.
