Nutraceutical Content and Genetic Diversity Share a Common Pattern in New Pomegranate Genotypes

The nutraceutical value of pomegranate in the treatment of many diseases is well-documented and is linked to its richness in phenolic compounds. This study aims to evaluate the nutraceutical and genetic diversity of novel pomegranate genotypes (G1–G5) in comparison to leading commercial pomegranate varieties, i.e., ‘Wonderful’, ‘Primosole’, ‘Dente di Cavallo’ and ‘Valenciana’. Morphometric measurements were carried out on fruits, accompanied by chemical characterization (total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, carbohydrates and minerals) and the development of four new polymorphic SSR markers involved in the flavonoid pathway. The cultivars displayed a marked variability in the weight and shape of the fruits, as well as in the weight of the arils and juice yield. The highest level of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity was found in ‘Wonderful’ and G4, while the lowest was in ‘Dente di Cavallo’. Furthermore, the results showed that pomegranate juice is an excellent source of minerals, especially potassium, which plays a key role in organ functioning. The new flavonoid-related markers effectively differentiated the cultivars with the same diversity pattern as morpho-chemical characterization, so the SSRs developed in the present study can be used as a rapid tool for the identification of pomegranate cultivars with relevant nutraceutical traits, such as the new genotypes investigated.

Nutraceutical Content and Genetic Diversity Share a Common Pattern in New Pomegranate Genotypes

The nutraceutical value of pomegranate in the treatment of many neoplastic, cardiovascular, viral, inflammatory, metabolic, microbial, intestinal, reproductive and skin diseases is well-documented and is linked to its richness in phenolic compounds. This study aims to evaluate nutraceutical and genetic diversity of novel pomegranate genotypes (G1-G5) in comparison to leading commercial pomegranate varieties i.e. ‘Wonderful’, ‘Primosole’, ‘Dente di Cavallo’ and ‘Valenciana’. Morphometric measurements were carried out on fruits, accompanied by chemical characterization and the development of four new polymorphic SSR markers involved in the flavonoid pathway. The cultivars displayed a marked variability in the weight and shape of fruits, as well as in the weight of arils and juice yield. The highest level of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity was found in ‘Wonderful’ and G4, while the lowest was in ‘Dente di Cavallo’. Furthermore, the results showed that the pomegranate juice, is an excellent source of minerals, especially potassium, which plays a key role in organ functioning. The new flavonoid-related markers effectively differentiated the cultivars with the same diversity pattern as morpho-chemical characterization, so the SSRs developed in the present study can be used as a rapid tool for the identification of pomegranate cultivars with relevant nutraceutical traits.

Pomegranate, fruit of the desert, a functional food, and a healthy diet

Traditional medicinal plants contain various ranges of chemical contents and they have become popular because of effectiveness, frequently inadequate provision of modern medicine, preferences and cultural beliefs. Pomegranate belongs to the family of Punicaceae, and its various pharmacological activities are due to presence of wide range of bioactive compounds. The current searching was done by the keywords in main indexing systems including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Institute for Scientific Web of Science as well as the search engine of Google Scholar. The keywords were traditional medicine, health benefits, pharmaceutical science, pomegranate, punicalin, punicalagin, and ellagitannins. Major polyphenols in peel and juice of pomegranate are flavonoids such as flavonols (catechin, epicatechin, gallocatechin), condensed tannins, phenolic acids such as gallic, ellagic and caffeic, hyrolysable tannins such as ellagitannins and gallotannins. The main organic acids in pomegranate juice are malic and citric, and in seed is fatty acids (punicic). The major alkaloids and lignans in peel are punigratane and isolariciresinol, respectively. Pomegranate fruit has been proven to act against various diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, male infertility, inflammation, coronary heart disease, and aging. The review summarizes the beneficial impacts of pomegranate which is recommended for consumption. Pomegranate is a high potential natural functional food due to its high pharmacological activities as an ancient efficacious natural drug.

Rapid detection of pesticide in milk, cereal and cereal based food and fruit juices using paper strip-based sensor

The study was aimed to validate paper strip sensors for the detection of pesticide residues in milk, cereal-based food, and fruit juices in comparison with GC–MS/MS under field conditions. The detection limit of pesticide using rapid paper strip sensor for organophosphate, carbamate, organochlorine, fungicide, and herbicide group ranges from 1 to 10, 1–50, 250–500, 1–50, and 1 ppb, respectively in milk and milk product, cereal-based food and fruit juices. Among 125 samples of milk samples collected from the market 33 milk samples comprising 31 raw milk and 2 pasteurized milk found positive for pesticide using the strip-based sensor. In cereal based food and fruit juice samples, 6 cereal flours and 4 fruit juices were found positive for pesticide residues. The pesticide positive samples were further evaluated quantitatively using GC–MS/MS wherein 7 samples comprised of raw milk, pasteurized milk, rice flour, wheat flour, maize flour, apple juice, and pomegranate juice have shown the presence of chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, α-endosulfan, β-endosulfan DDD and DDT at trace level as well as at above MRL level. It is envisaged that the developed paper strip sensor can be a potential tool in the rapid and cost-effective screening of a large number of food samples for pesticide residues.

Effect of Natural and Industrial Juices on Surface Microhardness of Microhybrid and Nanohybrid Composites

Numerous studies have been conducted on the effect of various beverages on the mechanical properties of toothcolored materials, however, little is known about the effects of these materials on composites, particularly newer types such as nanocomposites. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the surface microhardness of two types of composites, micro-hybrid (point 4) and nanohybrid (premise), after exposure to natural and industrial juices. Methods: In this experimental study, 90 disc-shaped specimens with a thickness of 2 mm and a diameter of 10 mm were taken from two composites, micro-hybrid Point4 (Kerr) and nanohybrid premise (kerr) (two groups of 45). Then, the specimens of each group were divided into 5 subgroups of 9 and were immersed for 7 days for 6 hours in 5 solutions of industrial orange juice, natural orange juice, industrial pomegranate juice, natural pomegranate juice, and distilled water (control group). Surface microhardness of specimens was measured by Vickers device at baseline, one day and one week after immersing. Data was measured by ANOVA, repeated measure test, and independent t-test. A significant level of α was 0.05. Results: The surface microhardness of two types of composites exposed to beverages was reduced significantly. However, no significant difference was found between natural and industrial juices in none of the composites. Conclusions: Natural and industrial juices can affect the surface microhardness of composites, which varies depending on the type of composite and the type of juice and immersion time.