Influence of the solvents on the extraction of major phenolic compounds (punicalagin, ellagic acid and gallic acid) and their antioxidant activities in pomegranate aril

Abstract

Phenolic compounds of fruits have been shown to maintain human health. However, the relative amounts of phenolic compounds and the variation in the types of phenolics are still poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the most effective solvent for extracting the potent antioxidant compounds, especially phenolics from pomegranate aril. Pomegranate aril was subjected to extraction using different solvents viz., water, ethanol, acetone and diethyl ether either alone or in combination, and the extraction yield, total phenolic contents, and antioxidant activity were investigated. The extracts derived from various solvents were also analysed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for quantification of major polyphenols (punicalagins, ellagic acid and gallic acid) of pomegranate. Amongst the tested solvents, combination of ethanol, diethyl ether and water (8:1:1) extract exhibited the highest 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging power (IC50 = 10.12 μg mL-1). Further, HPLC analysis of different extracts revealed that ethanol, diethyl ether and water (8:1:1) mixture contained significantly higher (p<0.05) amounts of punicalagin A (1.06 μg mg-1 extract), punicalagin B (2.07± 0.03 μg mg-1 extract), ellagic acid (34.5 μg mg-1 extract) and gallic acid (3.37 μg mg-1 extract) in comparison to the other solvents used for extraction. The results demonstrate that pomegranate aril is a good source of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity and the antioxidant activity is dependent on the type of solvent system that extracts different phenolic compounds with varying polarity. The solvent extracts that showed effective antioxidants activities have the potential for application in suitable food products.

Pomegranate peel methanolic‐extract improves the shelf‐life of edible‐oils under accelerated oxidation conditions

“…The polarity of extracting solvents was also known to play a critical role in the extraction process and might change the quantity and quality of the extracted (macro or micro) molecules. To the author's knowledge, there is no powerful solvent or combination of different solvents (in specific ratio) that has the maximum extraction capability to extract the diverse range of chemical fractions from pomegranate peel powder (Singh et al, ).…”

“…The previous study conducted on pomegranate aril showed that ellagic acid was detected in different extracts except for the water extract, and it was the highest detected phenolic compound with 34.5 (μg/mg) when a combination of ethanol: ether: water (8:1:1) was used (Singh et al, ). Bopitiya and Madhujith () concluded that the presence of significant amounts of phenolic and flavonoid compounds (such as ellagic and gallic acids) were attributed to the antioxidant properties of pomegranate peel extracts (Bopitiya & Madhujith, ).…”

Reactive Separation of Gallic Acid: Experimentation and Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology and Artificial Neural Network

“…1,7 Hence, there has been considerable interest among researchers to focus on the removal of GA from the wastewater due to its toxicity, acidity, and unsafe disposal. Methods such as oxidation, 8,9 colloidal surfactant method, 10,11 photocatalytic degradation, 12 solvent extraction 13,14 etc. are being employed in the removal of GA.…”

Phenolic profiling and antibacterial potential of Saudi Arabian native date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) cultivars

“…Punicalagin is widely reported for their strong antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. [44,45] Quercetin-3-O-glucoside and their derivatives are important plant derived flavonoid present in the extract of Ajwa and Al-Qasim. Quercetin-3-O-glucoside and Quercetin derivatives are widely reported for their pharmaceutical potential.…”