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This article aims to determine the phenolic, tocopherol contents, and antioxidant capacities from fruits (juices, peels, and seed oils) of 6 Tunisian pomegranate ecotypes. Total anthocyanins were determined by a differential pH method. Hydrolyzable tannins were determined with potassium iodate. The tocopherol (α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and δ-tocopherol) contents were, respectively, 165.77, 107.38, and 27.29 mg/100 g from dry seed. Four phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in pomegranate peel and pulp using the high-performance liquid chromatography/ultraviolet method: 2 hydroxybenzoic acids (gallic and ellagic acids) and 2 hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic and p-coumaric acids). Juice, peel, and seed oil antioxidants were confirmed by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) methods. The highest values were recorded in peels with 25.63 mmol trolox equivalent/100 g and 22.08 mmol TE/100 g for FRAP and ORAC assay, respectively. Results showed that the antioxidant potency of pomegranate extracts was correlated with their phenolic compound content. In particular, the highest correlation was reported in peels. High correlations were also found between peel hydroxybenzoic acids and FRAP ORAC antioxidant capacities. Identified tocopherols seem to contribute in major part to the antioxidant activity of seed oil. The results implied that bioactive compounds from the peel might be potential resources for the development of antioxidant function dietary food.

Peels and fresh pomegranate extracts were used in the present study for the determination of the physic-chemical properties and DPPH-ABTS scavenging activities. Total sugars of juice are fructose (ca. 7 g/100 ml) and glucose (ca. 8 g/100 ml). Contents of soluble proteins in juice extracts are about 7 g/l (Bradford assays) and 22% (Kjeldhal assays) from dry pulp. Minerals in peel and juice are respectively 9.43+/-0.93 and 9.46+/-1.05 mg/100 ml for posphorus and 210.86+/-10.70 and 271.94+/-60.59 mg/100 g for potassium. The sodium contents are nearly 7 mg/100 ml in both peel and juice. Highly antioxidant contents in peels were confirmed. Free radical scavenging is about 3.58+/-0.38 microg/ml in peel. The antioxidant capacity value determined by ABTS was 7.364+/-0.403 mM Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity/100 g dry weight. These findings implied that bio-active compounds from the peel might be potential resources for the development of antioxidant function dietary food.

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Pomegranate seed oil is considered a powerful health-benefiting agent due to its anti-oxidative and anticarcinogenic properties. Lipids from 21 pomegranate cultivars (15 Tunisian and 6 Chinese) were extracted and fatty acids were identified. Total lipids (16% on a dry weight basis) are mainly unsaturated (ca. 88%). Qualitatively, the pomegranate fatty acid composition is identical. Quantitatively, the predominant fatty acid was linolenic acid (44.51-86.14%), followed by linoleic acid (3.57-13.92%), oleic acid (3.03-12.88%), palmitic acid (3.13-11.82%), stearic acid (1.68-15.64%), gadoleic acid (0.50-4.91%), lignoceric acid ( < 2.53%), arachidic acid ( < 1.70%) and myristic acid ( < 0.85%). Statistical methods revealed how Chinese and Tunisian pomegranate fatty acid contents may be affected by the sampling location.

High-performance liquid chromatography was used to determine carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, neoxanthin, and violaxanthin) and tocopherols of leaves, buds, and flowers of Tunisian Capparis spinosa. This plant shows strong resistance to hard environmental conditions, and it is one of the most commonly found aromatics in the Mediterranean kitchen. In this study, the means of the total carotenoids were 3452.5 +/- 1639.4, 1002 +/- 518.5, and 342.7 +/- 187.9 microg/g fresh weight (FW) in leaves, buds, and flowers, respectively. Lutein accounts for the high content. Violaxanthin provided the lowest portion of the total carotenoids. The principal form of tocopherol detected in leaves was alpha-tocopherol (20.19 +/- 10 mg/100 g FW). In buds and flowers, there were both alpha- (49.12 +/- 17.48 and 28.68 +/- 9.13 mg/100 g FW, respectively) and gamma-tocopherol (48.13 +/- 15.08 and 27.8 +/- 16.01 mg/100 g FW, respectively). The combined content of pro-vitamin A and vitamin E in capers encourages researchers to more explore and find developments for this plant.