Effect of Gum Arabic and Starch-Based Coating and Different Polyliners on Postharvest Quality Attributes of Whole Pomegranate Fruit

This study investigated the effect of gum Arabic and starch-based coating and two polyliners (Liner 1-micro-perforated Xtend® and Liner 2-macro-perforated high-density polyethylene) on whole ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate fruit during cold storage (5 ± 1 °C and 95 ± 2% RH). Uncoated (UC) and coated (GAMS) fruit were packaged into standard open top ventilated cartons (dimensions: 0.40 m long, 0.30 m wide and 0.12 m high) with (GAMS + Liner 1, GAMS + Liner 2, UC + Liner 1 and UC + Liner 2) or without (UC and GAMS) polyliners. After 42 d, treatment GAMS + Liner 1 recorded the least weight loss (4.82%), whilst GAMS recorded lower (8.77%) weight loss than UC + Liner 2 (10.07%). The highest (24.74 mLCO2 kg−1h−1) and lowest (13.14 mLCO2 kg−1h−1) respiration rates were detected in UC and GAMS + Liner 1, respectively. The highest and lowest total soluble solids were recorded for GAMS (16.87 °Brix), and GAMS + Liner 1 (15.60 °Brix) and UC + Liner 1 (15.60 °Brix), respectively. Overall, no decay was detected for coated fruit packaged with either Liner 1 or Liner 2. Therefore, the combination of GAMS with Xtend® polyliners proved to be an effective treatment to maintain the quality of ‘Wonderful’ pomegranates during storage.

Improving Bioavailability of Gallic Acid and Quercetin by Designing Polymeric Nanoparticle Formulation

Objective The pharmacokinetic properties of encapsulated polyherbal nanoparticles (Gallic acid and quercetin nanoparticle) and polyherbal extract (Amla and pomegranate fruit peels) in normal and DMH-induced colorectal cancer in rats was examined in this work. Method Polyherbal nanoparticles such as Gallic acid isolated from amla fruit and quercetin from pomegranate peel extract formulated into polymeric nanoparticle by using probe sonicator and high pressure homogenization. Result In normal and DMH-induced rats, a pharmacokinetic study demonstrated that polyherbal nanoparticles had a typical sustained release profile with a 2-fold increase in bioavailability when compared to polyherbal extract. Based on serum–concentration profiles of polyherbal nanoparticles and polyherbal extract following oral administration, the pharmacokinetic parameters for polyherbal nanoparticles and polyherbal extract were established using a single compartmental approach. Conclusion This research suggests that encapsulating gallic acid and quercetin in polymeric nanoparticles improves oral bioavailability than polyherbal extract of amla and pomegranate peel. Polymeric nanoparticles could be a novel therapeutic possibility for carcinogenesis prevention.

Punicalagin Regulates Signaling Pathways in Inflammation-Associated Chronic Diseases

Inflammation is a complex biological defense system associated with a series of chronic diseases such as cancer, arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. The extracts of pomegranate fruit and peel have been reported to possess health-beneficial properties in inflammation-associated chronic diseases. Punicalagin is considered to be the major active component of pomegranate extracts. In this review we have focused on recent studies into the therapeutic effects of punicalagin on inflammation-associated chronic diseases and the regulatory roles in NF-κB, MAPK, IL-6/JAK/STAT3 and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways. We have concluded that punicalagin may be a promising therapeutic compound in preventing and treating inflammation-associated chronic diseases, although further clinical studies are required.

Pomegranate Fruit Quality and Seed Drying Method: Effect on the Chemical Composition and Bioactivities of the Extracted Oil

The study presents a comparative investigation of the composition and bioactivity of oil extracted from pomegranate seeds of sun-burned fruit (SB) and healthy fruit (HF) for the value-adding potential of pomegranate fruit waste. Seeds from SB and HF were independently freeze dried, sun dried, and oven dried before ultrasound-assisted oil extraction using petroleum ether. The extracted oil was analysed for yield, refractive index, ρ-anisidine value, total phenolic content (TPC), DPPH radical scavenging ability, antimicrobial activity, tyrosinase enzyme inhibition ability, and fatty acid composition. The results showed that oven dried seeds, regardless of fruit quality, yielded the highest oil (20.85–24.70%, dry weight). Regardless of the seed drying method, oil from the seeds of SB exhibited the highest TPC (1.48–2.84 mgGAE/g PSO) than oil from the seeds of HF. The oil from oven dried and freeze dried seeds of SB were more effective in scavenging the DPPH radicals with IC50 values of 34.77 and 39.97 µg/mL, respectively. All the oil samples showed good ability to inhibit tyrosinase enzyme regardless of fruit quality and seed drying method, with monophenolase and diphenolase IC50 ranging between 0.31 and 0.49 mg/mL and 0.64 and 2.43 mg/mL, respectively. Irrespective of the drying method, oil extracted from HF seeds exhibited greater antimicrobial potency against the tested bacteria. The fatty acid composition of the oil samples was neither affected by fruit quality and seed drying method. Generally, all oil samples exhibited high levels of punicic acid (81.21–82.68%) and low omega 6 to omega 3 ratios (0.19–0.37%), suggesting that the oil samples were healthy. Principal component analysis (PCA) established that freeze dried seeds of SB is an excellent source of oil with higher TPC, punicic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and unsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid ratio. It can be concluded that the seed from SB is a good raw material for oil that can be utilised in cosmetic products formulation.

First Report of Pulp Rot in the Externally Asymptomatic Pomegranate Fruit Caused by Talaromyces albobiverticillius in Henan Province, China

As a popular deciduous fruit tree, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is grown from tropical to temperate zones worldwide, therein China has at least 120000 hm2 cultivation area. In August 2020, severe pulp rot occurred in the externally asymptomatic pre-harvest pomegranate fruit on a 3-year-old soft-seeded variety (Tunisia) in the Zhanghe village (32º40´34˝N, 111º44´20˝E) of Jiuchong township, Xichuan county in Henan province, China with 6.4-20 (av. 12.6) % pulp rot incidence evaluated from 11 freshly sampled fruits (360 pulps per fruit investigated). The fruits showed no external symptoms, however, browning occurred on part of their pulps before harvest compared to the normal ones with white or pink color. The surface of the externally asymptomatic fruits was sterilized with 75% ethanol, and air-dried in a clean bench. The surface-disinfected fruits were dissected with a sterilized knife. Brown pulps from the fruits were picked up using flame-sterilized tweezers and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates. After five days of incubation at 28 °C, pure fungal cultures with similar phenotypic features developed from the affected pulps. Two randomly selected isolates Tp-2 and Tp-8 were used for the study. The colony surface of the isolates was greyish-green with claret-red exudates. Claret-red pigments were commonly secreted into the medium from the colonies. Conidia were unicellular, hyaline to greyish, mostly rugby ball-shaped with a dimension of 2.2-3.5 (2.7) µm × 1.6-2.0 (1.8) µm (n=50) for Tp-2, and 2.2-3.1 (2.6) µm × 1.6-2.2 (1.8) µm (n=50) for Tp-8. The rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and β-tubulin gene sequences of the isolates were amplified with primers ITS1/ITS4 and Bt2a/Bt2b, respectively. Sequences were submitted to GenBank with accession numbers MW132153 and MW132077 for the rDNA-ITS sequences, and MW507822 and MW507823 for the β-tubulin gene sequences of Tp-2 and Tp-8, respectively, with a maximal sequence identity greater than 99 % to multiple strains of Talaromyces albobiverticillius (TA) based on BLAST analyses. In the Neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees constructed using rDNA-ITS and β-tubulin gene sequences, both Tp-2 and Tp-8 formed a clade with mutiple strains of TA, clearly separated from other Talaromyces spp. Conidial suspensions (106 spores ml-1) of Tp-2 and Tp-8 were separately injected into five pomegranate fruits (Tunisia) sampled from an orchard free of the disease with a sterilized syringe. Five fruits inoculated with sterilized water were used as control (CK). The inoculated fruits were incubated at 25 °C for 10 days and cut out through the inoculated sites. Pulp rot symptoms occurred in the Tp-2/Tp-8-inoculated fruits, being similar to the naturally affected pulps. The CK pulps remained symptomless during the inoculation tests. Fungal cultures with the same phenotypic features as the inocula were constantly isolated from the brown pulps of the inoculated fruits, verifying both Tp-2 and Tp-8 as the causal agents of the disease based on Koch’s postulates. During a long-term (30-40 days) storage at ambient conditions, fruits sampled from affected orchards developed brown lesions on their peels from which TA cultures could be isolated. TA was reported as the pathogen causing postharvest fruit rot on pomegranate in Italy (Mincuzzi et al. 2017). This is the first report of TA causing pulp rot in the externally asymptomatic pomegranate fruit in China.

Effects of Storage Conditions on the Total Content of Anthocyanins and Degradation of Phenolic Compounds During Long Storage of Pomegranate Fruit (Punica Granatum L.)

Effects of storage temperature, elevated CO2 and reduced O2 in the package headspace, packaging material, and their interactions on the total content of anthocyanins and degradation of phenolic compounds in ‘Malase Torsh Saveh’ pomegranate were studied during long storage. The results showed that only storage temperature and its duration had significant effects on the degradation of phenolic compounds. The content of anthocyanins was affected by the single effect of storage time and its 3-way interaction effect with the storage temperature and the surrounding gas composition. Higher amounts of both total anthocyanins and browning pigments were recorded at 2 °C. The Browning index (BI) of the pomegranate extracts changed quadratically with the variations in the total anthocyanins content and linearly with the variations in the content of browning compounds. Thermal dipping treatment and its interaction with the storage time significantly affected the BI values of modified atmosphere packaged pomegranates stored at 6 °C.

Toxicity Testing Of White Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Fruit Extracts Using Brine Shrimp Lethality Test Method As A Candidate Of Anti-Cancer Drug

This research aimed to determine the effects of toxic white pomegranate fruit extract (Punica granatum L) against larvae of brine shrimp (Artemia salina Leach) indicated LC50 values below 1000 µg/ml. This study is purely experimental by using Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT). The study was divided into seven groups, namely ethanol extract of white pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L) with a concentration of 31,25; 62,5; 125; 250; 500; 1000 µg/ml and negative control (seawater). Mortality data percentage of Artemia salina Leach analyzed by probit analysis. Results showed that the extract of white pomegranate fruit extract (Punica Granatum L) has a toxic effect with LC50 values of 248,6 µg/ml calculate from probit analysis. From these results, it can conclude that white pomegranate extract is toxic to larval shrimp (Artemia salina Leach) with Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT) method which means white pomegranate extract has the potential to be an anticancer drug.