The pomegranate is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Lythraceae that grows between 5 and 10 m tall.
The fruit is typically in season in the Northern Hemisphere from September to February, and in the Southern Hemisphere from March to May. As intact arils or juice, pomegranates are used in baking, cooking, juice blends, meal garnishes, smoothies, and alcoholic beverages, such as cocktails and wine.
The pomegranate originated in the region extending from modern-day Iran to northern India, and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region. It was introduced into Spanish America in the late 16th century and into California by Spanish settlers in 1769.
Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and Caucasus region, north and tropical Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, the drier parts of Southeast Asia, and parts of the Mediterranean Basin. It is also cultivated in parts of Arizona and California. In the 20th and 21st centuries, it has become more common in the shops and markets of Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
A shrub or small tree growing 5 to 10 m high, the pomegranate has multiple spiny branches and is extremely long-lived, with some specimens in France surviving for 200 years. P. granatum leaves are opposite or sub opposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are bright red and 3 cm in diameter, with three to seven petals. Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone.
Red-purple in color, the pomegranate fruit husk has two parts: an outer, hard pericarp, and an inner, spongy mesocarp, which comprises the fruit inner wall where arils attach. Membranes of the mesocarp are organized as nonsymmetrical chambers that contain seeds inside arils, which are embedded without attachment to the mesocarp. Containing juice, the arils are formed as a thin membrane derived from the epidermal cells of the seeds. The number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1,400.
Botanically, the edible fruit is a berry with seeds and pulp produced from the ovary of a single flower. The fruit is intermediate in size between a lemon and a grapefruit, 5–12 cm in diameter with a rounded shape and thick, reddish husk.
In mature fruits, the juice obtained by compressing the arils and seeds yields a sour flavor due to low pH and high contents of polyphenols, which may cause a red indelible stain on fabrics. Primarily, the pigmentation of pomegranate juice results from the presence of anthocyanins and ellagitannins.
After the pomegranate is opened by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the seeds are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. Separating the seeds is easier in a bowl of water because the seeds sink and the inedible pulp floats. Freezing the entire fruit also makes it easier to separate. Another effective way of quickly harvesting the seeds is to cut the pomegranate in half, score each half of the exterior rind four to six times, hold the pomegranate half over a bowl, and smack the rind with a large spoon. The seeds should eject from the pomegranate directly into the bowl, leaving only a dozen or more deeply embedded seeds to remove.
Pomegranate juice can be sweet or sour, but most fruits are moderate in taste, with sour notes from the acidic ellagitannins contained in the juice. Pomegranate juice has long been a popular drink in Europe and the Middle East, and is now widely distributed in the United States and Canada.
Dried pomegranate seeds, found in some natural specialty food markets, still contain some residual water, maintaining a natural sweet and tart flavor. Dried seeds can be used in several culinary applications, such as trail mix, granola bars, or as a topping for salad, yogurt, or ice cream.
In Turkey, pomegranate sauce is used as a salad dressing, to marinate meat, or simply to drink straight. Pomegranate seeds are also used in salads and sometimes as garnish for desserts such as gullac. Pomegranate syrup or molasses is used in muhammara, a roasted red pepper, walnut, and garlic spread popular in Syria and Turkey.
A 100 g serving of pomegranate arils provides 12% of the Daily Value for vitamin C, 16% DV for vitamin K and 10% DV for folate.
Pomegranate seeds are a rich source of dietary fiber which is entirely contained in the edible seeds. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber and micronutrients.
Pomegranate seed oil contains punicic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid.
Pomegranate Juice
The most abundant phytochemicals in pomegranate juice are polyphenols, including the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid and/or gallic acid binds with a carbohydrate to form pomegranate ellagitannins, also known as punicalagins.
The red color of juice can be attributed to anthocyanins, such as delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin glycosides. Generally, an increase in juice pigmentation occurs during fruit ripening.
The phenolic content of pomegranate juice is adversely affected by processing and pasteurization techniques.
Cholesterol level
Pomegranate is rich in major antioxidants like anthocyanins and tannins that may help to block the buildup of cholesterol in arteries which in return protect heart damage. Juice of this fruit may help to reduce the concentration of low density lipoproteins from the body which may protect the body from stroke attack. Leaf extract of pomegranate has potential to reduce serum cholesterol in mouse fed with high fat diet according to the weight of rats 400 to 800mg of extract was administrated for 5 weeks period. High fat diet with obesity symptoms rat were chosen. After this induction results were significant in reducing total cholesterol and triglycerides level of the body. Weight was reduced and intestinal absorption of fat was decreased. Energy and body HDL levels decreased showing beneficial effects of leaf extract of pomegranate.
Blood Pressure
Systolic blood pressure can be reduced by juice of pomegranate to a significant level. Potassium in it can prevent arteries from stiffness and atherosclerosis. It improves blood flow to the heart and reduces the incidents of heart attack. In order to measure the beneficial effects of juicy part of pomegranate 21 hypertensive patients were selected. Their age vary between 30 to 67 years. One group of 11 patients was given 150ml of juice to be taken either in lunch or dinner for 2 weeks. Similarly other group of 10 people was treated with the same amount of water. After the completion of the study results were positive in reducing systolic and diastolic blood concentrations. It was also seen that serum level of vascular endothelial adhesion molecule was decreased up to which has curative effects for patients regarding endothelial functions and blood pressure profile.
Immune System
Various health conditions related to throat and respiration can be resolved by pomegranates. As this fruit is rich in iron content it ensures normal platelet count of the body by which a person feels less fatigue symptoms. These fruits are often recommended for liver prevention. Pomegranate juice helps in the reduction of platelet aggregation and oxidative stress in mice and humans. In laboratory two human studies were carried out. In the first part 13 people having age between 20 to 35 years taking no medications and who were non-smokers were given daily 50ml of juice for 2 weeks while in the second part increased doses were given up to 80ml for 10 weeks to 3 subjects. Body mass index of all subjects remains same during the study. Blood samples of twelve hour fast were taken before study and after juice supplementation after 2 weeks. Results on lipoproteins and lipid levels were: Pomegranate juice inhibits aggregation and oxidation of atherosclerotic lesion and attenuate platelet activation.
Weight Loss
Pomegranates are rich in fiber content that can bind extra fat and cholesterol from the body and facilitates its excretion and thus can prevent obesity in return. Leaves of this fruit induce fat and weight loss up to a significant level. In this study water, ethyl acetate and methanol were used to separate antioxidant fractions from seeds and peel of pomegranate. Diphenyl Hydrazyl and B-carotene linoleate models were utilized for this extraction. At 100ppm by using these two model’s methanol extract for seeds show 22.6 percent and 23.2 percent antioxidant potential. Similarly, for peel these models at 50ppm show 83 and 81 percent results for methanol solution. As peel extracts show highest antioxidant potential so it was used for testing its effects on low density lipoproteins level, peroxidation of lipids as well as on hydroxyl radicals in humans. For testing this method of thiobarbituric acid was used at 100ppm. This shows inhibition of these dangerous mechanisms up to 56, 58 and 93.7 percent respectively. So, this shows strong evidence of antioxidants potential in peel and seeds of pomegranate.
Pomegranate is been studied from centuries and shows various outstanding therapeutic benefits both in vitro and in vivo trials. It has been regarded best as compare to green tea due to its antioxidant potential. All parts of this fruit have been utilized in food industry for prevention and treatment of various diseases. It shows no toxic effects to liver and other organs even if taken 1420mg of tablet of pomegranate extract and can be used as natural supplement. However, it is the need of the time to promote its cultivation by traditional and non- traditional means in order to gain benefits of this fruit as well as to compete in global market for its export. In addition to this more studies and experiments are needed to evaluate effects of pomegranate in treating diarrheal diseases and in preventing fungal proliferation. Potential of this fruit in overcoming infections can bring tremendous progress in nutritional and therapeutic industries.
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