Pomegranate Peel

In 2007, an outbreak of disease occurred in South African pomegranate orchards. The symptoms included leaf and fruit spots, and cankers on stems, branches and trunks. Based on biochemical and molecular analyses and pathogenicity tests, the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae was identified as the causal agent. This is the first report of bacterial blight on pomegranate in South Africa.

Pomegranate peels (Punica granatum) are usually discarded as waste even a significant portion of polyphenols are often present in high concentrations in the outer parts of fruits. The objective of this study was to establish an extraction procedure for polyphenols and proanthocyanidins from pomegranate’s peels (PMP), and to assess their potential radical scavenging activity. Water extraction efficiency at extraction temperature of 20 to 90 °C and extraction times of 5 to 60 min were studied. The recovery of polyphenols and proanthocyanidins was the highest at 50°C for 20 min. Water gave the highest extract yield of polyphenols and proanthocyanidins (17.78%, 1.22%) respectively, followed by 50% aqueous ethanol while ethyl acetate gave the lowest extract yield (0.75%, 0.049%) respectively. The DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity of extracts had a linear relationship with the polyphenols yield in the extracts. The study of the effect of different pH medium revealed that polyphenols were more extractable by water and proanthocyanidins recovery was better in a buffer at pH 3.5. The extracts were stable in a freezer for about two weeks. This study revealed that two sequential water extractions has the economic and safety merits, and can be used as an environmentally friendly method for producing antioxidants from the PMP.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most prevailing infectious diseases and may be classified as uncomplicated or complicated, depending upon the urinary tract anatomy and physiology. The Gram negative bacteria of E. coli cause 70-95% of upper and lower UTIs. Pomegranate peels (Punica granatum L.) are considered byproducts obtained during juice processing and characterized by the significant presence of polyphenols associated with biological properties such as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. The aim of this study was to estimate the antimicrobial and anti-virulence effect of aqueous pomegranate peel extract against E. coli cultures collected from urinary cultures of the Microbiology Laboratory of Al-Bassel Hospital, in Syria, 2016. The inhibitory activity was found to be dose and pH dependent with an MIC value of 0.6 mg/ ml and an MBC value of 1.2 mg/ml at the pH of the aqueous extract (3.5). The assay of adhesion carried out at MIC showed a reduction of up to 80% of the adhesion index accompanied with a reduction in motility and ornithine decarboxylation as indicated by MIO test. Results indicate that the aqueous pomegranate peel extract could be an important source of new antimicrobial compounds in order to treat E. coli urinary tract infections.

The present study was aimed to investigate protective effects of the extract of piper longum fruit, pomegranate peel, silymarin and vitamins C and E on reproductive toxicity induced by thioacetamide in male rat by evaluating the oxidative biomarkers including, malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in testes tissue and plasma level of testosterone and sperm parameters in adult male rats. Reproductive toxicity was induced by thioacetamide (200 mg/kg BW) and treatment with herbal and vitamin supplements were orally administered by gavage for 8 weeks. At the end of the study, oxidative biomarkers, testosterone and sperm parameters including concentration, motility, viability, and abnormality in adult male rats were measured. The results of this study indicated that thioacetamide significantly increased MDA, and decreased testosterone and antioxidant enzyme activity and impaired sperm parameters (p<0.05). While, treatment with PPE200, PPE400, PL200, PL400, S, E, and C had protective effects on toxicity induced by thioacetamide and could significantly improve the above parameters (p<0.05). The results also indicated that PPE and PL acted in a dose-dependent manner. Given the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory role of their compounds, it seems reasonable that higher doses have a greater potential for treatment. It can be concluded that thioacetamide causes oxidative damage and impaired reproductive function and pomegranate peel and PL fruit extract, and vitamins E and C can improve reproductive toxicity by thioacetamide in male rats. Therefore, using herbal supplements and vitamins can be helpful in improving sexual function.