title: Pomegranate peel and peel extracts: chemistry and food features.
abstract: The present review focuses on the nutritional, functional and anti-infective properties of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel (PoP) and peel extract (PoPx) and on their applications as food additives, functional food ingredients or biologically active components in nutraceutical preparations. Due to their well-known ethnomedical relevance and chemical features, the biomolecules available in PoP and PoPx have been proposed, for instance, as substitutes of synthetic food additives, as nutraceuticals and chemopreventive agents. However, because of their astringency and anti-nutritional properties, PoP and PoPx are not yet considered as ingredients of choice in food systems. Indeed, considering the prospects related to both their health promoting activity and chemical features, the nutritional and nutraceutical potential of PoP and PoPx seems to be still underestimated. The present review meticulously covers the wide range of actual and possible applications (food preservatives, stabilizers, supplements, prebiotics and quality enhancers) of PoP and PoPx components in various food products. Given the overall properties of PoP and PoPx, further investigations in toxicological and sensory aspects of PoP and PoPx should be encouraged to fully exploit the health promoting and technical/economic potential of these waste materials as food supplements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. Electronic address: saeedbzu@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Tariq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino "Carlo Bo", Via Saffi, 2, 61029 Urbino, PU, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fraternale
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino "Carlo Bo", Via Saffi, 2, 61029 Urbino, PU, Italy.
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sestili
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis; D005503:Food Additives / Q000737:chemistry; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000737:chemistry; D055951:Functional Food; D006801:Humans; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins / Q000737:chemistry; D029561:Lythraceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*; D056692:Prebiotics / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D005503:Food Additives; D005520:Food Preservatives; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D056692:Prebiotics; C013515:ellagitannin
keywords: Antioxidant; Cancer; Cardiovascular diseases; Free radicals; Lipid oxidation; Pomegranate peel; Prebiotics; SAR; Toxicity