Enzyme-assisted Extraction of Polyphenols from Pomegranate (Punicagranatum) Peel

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is an important fruit for direct consumption and for juice extraction. The peel ofpomegranate (pomegranate peel) constitutes more than 40% of the fruit and is a valuable source of antioxidants [1]. Polyphenolsfrom pomegranate are associated with a number of health benefits including a role as, antioxidant, antimicrobial agent, antiinflammatoryagent, anti-proliferative agent, lipase inhibitor, and inhibitor for α-glycosidase [2-4]. Indeed, pomegranate peelantioxidant is being examined as natural ingredients for food processing and preservation [3].Attempts to improve the extractability of polyphenol antioxidants from pomegranate peel have been described recentlyinvolving various solvents [5,6], ultrasound assisted extraction [7-10] or microwave assisted extraction [11]. Optimization investigationsshowed that the extraction kinetics and efficiency could be affected by the solvent choice, extraction time, temperature, peelparticle size [8,10,12-15].In previous work, the current team successfully optimized enzyme-assisted extraction of polyphenols from sweet-lime [16],watermelon [17] and also examined super-fluid extraction of pomegranate peel [18]. Currently, the effect of enzymatic pre-digestionon the extractability of polyphenols from pomegranate peel has not been reported. The aims of the research presented in thispaper were to evaluate enzyme-assisted solvent extraction (EASE) of polyphenols from pomegranate peel and to characterizethe major components by HPLC, and the degree of antioxidant activity. The outcomes evaluated include, the extract yield, totalphenolic concentration (TPC), radical scavenging capacity (RSC) and Trolox Equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC).