Pomegranate peel and peel extracts: Chemistry and food features. (1st May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Akhtar, Saeed; Ismail, Tariq; Fraternale, Daniele; Sestili, Piero
• Is Part Of: Food chemistry. Volume 174(2015)
• Page Start: 417
• Page End: 425
• Publication Date: 2015-05-01
• Subjects: Pomegranate peel -- Antioxidant -- Prebiotics -- Cancer -- Cardiovascular diseases -- Free radicals -- Lipid oxidation -- SAR -- Toxicity; Food -- Analysis -- Periodicals; Food -- Composition -- Periodicals; 664
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.11.035
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-8146

Abstract

Highlights: Pomegranate peel and peel extracts hold potential as food ingredients to prevent disease. Pomegranate peel ellagitannins show promise as food preservatives and stabilizers. Utilisation of pomegranate peel to yield antioxidants is commercially viable. Food use of pomegranate peel is a way to address food security and waste management issues. Abstract: The present review focuses on the nutritional, functional and anti-infective properties of pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) peel (PoP) and peel extract (PoPx) and on their applications as food additives, functional food ingredients or biologically active components in nutraceutical preparations. Due to their well-known ethnomedical relevance and chemical features, the biomolecules available in PoP and PoPx have been proposed, for instance, as substitutes of synthetic food additives, as nutraceuticals and chemopreventive agents. However, because of their astringency and anti-nutritional properties, PoP and PoPx are not yet considered as ingredients of choice in food systems. Indeed, considering the prospects related to both their health promoting activity and chemical features, the nutritional and nutraceutical potential of PoP and PoPx seems to be still underestimated. The present review meticulously covers the wide range of actual and possible applications (food preservatives, stabilizers, supplements, prebiotics and quality enhancers) of PoP and PoPx components in various food products. Given the overall properties of PoP and PoPx, further investigations in toxicological and sensory aspects of PoP and PoPx should be encouraged to fully exploit the health promoting and technical/economic potential of these waste materials as food supplements.