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The pomegranate (Punica granatum
L.) belongs to the Punicaceae family and is one of the oldest known edible
fruits. It is accepted as a fruit that is a source of health and recovery in
many countries in the world. Therefore, recently scientific studies have
concentrated on pomegranate and pomegranate seed oil. The objective of this
study the dispersion of fatty acids in the seed oil of a type of pomegranate
called Hicaznar which is widely grown in Turkey. It has been determined that
pomegranate seed oil contains palmitic acid (5.30±0.38%), stearic acid
(2.78±0.51%), oleic acid (12.34±2.88%), linoleic acid (13.45±2.01%) and punicic
acid (64.65±4.51%) using GC. Pomegranate seed oil contains a high incidence of
punicic acid or omega-5. This type of fatty acid is effective in preventing the
formation of acidic cancer cells. Punicic acid also has antioxidant, antitumor,
anti-atherosclerotic and serum lipid-lowering properties. Thus, this study
indicated that fatty acid in the composition of pomegranate has positive health
effects.
Keywords: Fatty acid, Linolenic
acid, Pomegranate seed, Punicagranatum,
Punicic acid
INTRODUCTION
Pomegranate is a perennial from the Punicaceae family
(Punica granatum L.). It grows to a
height of 2-5 in the form of a bush. It can commonly be grown in tropical and
subtropical regions up to an altitude of
Though this fruit can be eaten fresh, it is hard to
consume it so in general. It is necessary to process the pomegranate for
different products in the food industry, such as pomegranate juice, pomegranate
juice concentrate, syrup, canned pomegranate, grain from dried pomegranate,
pomegranate syrup, jelly, jam, liqueur, and wine. The composition of
pomegranate is important to know in order to determine the product into which
it will be processed. The diversity of its usage area has increased the amount
of production and consumption of pomegranate around the world [4-6].
Much research has been conducted on the composition of
pomegranate fruit in the various countries from which it is produced [7,5]. The
fruit composition of pomegranate can vary depending on the type, growing
regions, climate, maturity, cultural application and conservation conditions
[4].
It is known that pomegranate consumption has an effect
on preventing disease by decreasing blood pressure, especially in patients with
high blood pressure. It prevents LDL oxidation and increases paraoxonase activity,
as well as high blood pressure, inflammation, arteriosclerosis, prostate
cancer, cardiac disease and HIV [10-12]. As a home remedy, pomegranate
preparations, dried pericarp, root, bark and fruit juice are used for colic,
colitis, and dysentery [2]. The pomegranate seed, the by-product of pomegranate
juice processing, contains a range of nutraceutical components such as sterols,
γ-tocopherol, punicic acid and hydroxyl benzoic acids [13]. The extract of
pomegranate seeds was reported to have antidiarrhoeal and antioxidant
bioactivities [14].
Punicic acid has increasingly attracted scientific
interest because of its several potential health benefits including
antioxidant, antitumor, anti-atherosclerotic and serum lipid-lowering
properties [18,19]. Overall, the effectiveness using of pomegranate seed oil
promotes good health and possibly helps in preventing inflammation, diabetes,
brain disorders, oxidative stress, hypoxia, hyperlipidemia (possibly decreased
low-density lipoprotein and increased high-density lipoprotein), cardiac
disease, AIDS, ischemia and cancer, especially skin, colon, breast, prostate,
and lung [20]. The objective of this work is to determine
the composition of pomegranate fatty acid which has positive effects on health.
OBJECTIVES
The main aim of this study was to evaluate the dispersion
of fatty acids in the seed oil of pomegranate which is widely grown in Turkey.
Pomegranate seed oil contains a high incidence of punicic acid which has
antioxidant, antitumor, anti-atherosclerotic and serum lipid-lowering
properties. The specific objective was fatty acid in the composition of
pomegranate has positive health effects.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Collection and preparation of samples:
Approximately 5 kg (n=5) of medium-sized pomegranate fruits (350-400 g) from
Hicaznar cultivars in the 2016 autumn season were selected from mature fruits
grown in the district of the Fethiye (Mugla) in Turkey.
Analytical procedure:
Fatty acid methyl esters were determined by comparison of
their retention times with the individual reference standards of palmitic acid
(C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1),
linoleic acid (C18:2) and punicic acid (C18:3) from Sigma
Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO, USA). The quantification of fatty acids was made according to their relative area
percentages compared with their calibration curves.
GC-MS
instrument: Fatty acid composition was determined using
Gas Chromatography (Agilent 6890 N) equipped with a flame ionization detector
(FID) and a ZB-1 column (10
m, 0.53 mm, 2.65 µm). The oven temperature was set at 100oC,
which was held for 10 minutes. Then, it
was increased at 15oC/min intervals, held
for 25 minutes and increased again to 250oC. Detector temperatures were set at 350oC. The injection type
was an auto injector and the temperature of the injection was 350oC. The volume of the
injection was 1.0 µl,
and helium was used as the carrier gas
with a linear velocity of 50 cm/second.
Statistical Analysis: Analysis
of variance (ANOVA) tests were performed
using SAS (SAS Version 6.12). Data were expressed as means ± Standard Error
(SE). Samples were studied in two
replication.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Punicic acid, a geometricisomer of linolenic acid, was the predominant fatty acid
in all pomegranate cultivars. Its amount ranged between 56.61 to 67.14% for N2
and N1 cultivars, respectively. Linoleic acid and oleic acid were the next most
abundant fatty acids in these samples. Their amounts ranged between 11.91 to
17.00% (N3 and N2 cultivars, respectively) and 10.01 to 17.28% (N1 and N2
cultivars, respectively). Palmitic and stearic acids were determined in all pomegranate varieties. Their amounts ranged between
4.92-5.93% and 2.20-3.47% (N5 and N3 cultivars respectively) (Table 1).
The
mean palmitic, stearic, oleic,
linoleic and punicic acid content of pomegranate seed oil was
5.30 ± 0.38%, 2.78 ± 0.51%, 12.34 ± 2.88%, 13.45 ± 2.01%, and 64.65 ± 4.51%,
respectively (Table 2). It has been determined that the unsaturated fatty acid content is 90.44%
and saturated fatty acid is 8.08% in total. In
addition, the rate of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids,
which is used as an important quality
criterion in vegetable oils, has been calculated as 0.09 in pomegranate seed
oil. Gölükcü et al. [22] found this
rate to be 0.08 in pomegranate seed oil.
The fatty acid composition and related ratios are summarized in Table 2. Figure 3 shows
the chromatogram of the punicic acid standard and Figure 4 demonstrates the chromatogram of fatty acids in
pomegranate seed oil. As shown, the main constituent of the oil was
polyunsaturated fatty acids. Up to 80 percent of the total polyunsaturated
fatty acids’ profile in pomegranate seed oil was punicic acid (Table 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4).
Prior
studies have shown that unsaturated fatty acids were predominant in pomegranate
seed oils. El-Shaarawy et
al. [23] reported that 8% of fatty acids were saturated, 10% were
monounsaturated, 10% diunsaturated and
approximately 70% would probably be punicic acid. Melgarejo et al. [24] studied seven clones of a pomegranate
from Spain and found that 4.16-26.65% of the fatty acids in seed oils were saturated, and 73.4-95.8% of fatty acid were
unsaturated. It was reported that the
predominant fatty acid was the polyunsaturated
(n-3) linolenic acid (43.4-88.2%), followed by linoleic (5.3-16.5%), oleic
(3.7-20.3%) and palmitoleic (traces to 2.9%) acids. To a lesser extent the
saturates palmitic (2.6-14.9%) and stearic (1.2-9.0%) acids were also found. Melgarejo
et al. [25] determined the fatty acid composition of the seed
oils of six pomegranate cultivars. In all varieties, the predominant fatty
acids were linoleic (25.2-38.6%) and oleic acid (24.8-35.5%), followed by
palmitic (18.2-22.6%), stearic (6.9-l0.4%) and linolenic acid (0.6-9.9%).
Elfalleh et al. [26] reported that 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%) and
stearic acid (1.68-15.64%) in 21 pomegranate cultivars.
Hernandez
et al. [27]
have reported palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and
punicic acid content of the fatty acid
composition of seed oil from three commercial pomegranate cultivars as 2.99-3.83%, 1.6-2.38%, 4.09-4.82%,
4.98-7.74%, and 66.76-79.29%, respectively. Kıralan et
al. [28] identified the
fatty acid composition of 15 commercially important pomegranate cultivars grown
in Turkey. They stated that the palmitic and stearic acid contents of the oils
ranged between 2.10-2.77% and 1.35-2.01%, respectively. They also reported that
the predominant unsaturated fatty acid was punicic acid (70.42-76.17%). Özgül-Yücel
[8] has also
declared that punicic acid was found to be dominant (57.3%) in pomegranate
oil seeds grown in Turkey. Palmitic acid (2%), stearic acid (1.6%), oleic acid (3.7%), and
linoleic acid (3.3%) were also found. Turtygin
et al. [29] studied the triglyceride composition of
pomegranate seed oil. They obtained the palmitic,
stearic, oleic, linoleic and punicic acid contents of the oils ranging between 1.781-2.218%,
1.009-1.296%, 2.825-4.056%, 2.030-2.742% and 70.24-89.68%, respectively. In
another study, punicic acid was found to be dominant (76.57%), and the pomegranate seed oil also contained
linoleic acid (4.73%), oleic acid (3.91%), stearic acid (1.82%) and palmitic
acid (2.49%) [30].
In an earlier attempt to determine
the fatty acid composition of pomegranates grown in Turkey, palmitic (4.62%),
stearic (2.77%), oleic (6.83%), linoleic (5.81%), and punicic acid (78.83%)
have been reported by Gölükcü et al. [22].
Pande et al. [31] found punicic acid (78.3-83.4%) to
be the predominant fatty acid and palmitic acid (2.8 - 4.8%), stearic acid
(2.1-3.6%), oleic acid (3.6-7.7%) and linoleic acid (3.2-5.8%) were composed of
lipid profiles of six pomegranate cultivars.
Parashar
et al. [32] studied that
the predominant fatty acid was linolenic acid (C18:3) and its
content was about 31.8-86.6%, followed by linoleic acid (0.7-24.4%), oleic acid
(0.4-17.4%), stearic acid (2.8-16.7%) and palmitic acid (0.3-9.9%) in 25
pomegranate varieties obtained from India. Fernandes et
al. [33] announced that pomegranate seed lipid fractions consisted mainly of
punicic acid (c9, t11, c13 C18:3), a geometric isomer of linolenic
acid, ranging between 77.3% and 83.6% of the total fatty acids, followed by
small amounts of linoleic acid (3.9-5.4%), oleic acid (3.1-5.7%) and palmitic
acid (3.1-4.0%). Parashar [34] determined the fatty acid composition of the seed oils of six pomegranate cultivars
by gas chromatography. Eleven fatty acids were
identified. In all cultivars, the predominant fatty acids were linoleic
(25.2-38.6%) and oleic acid (24.8-35.5%), followed by palmitic (18.2-22.6%),
stearic (6.9-10.4%), and linolenic acid (0.6-9.9%). Melo [35] reported that pomegranate seed
lipid fractions consisted mainly of punicic acid (55%). Soetjipto
et al. [36] determined the composition of fatty acids in the
seed oil of red and purple pomegranates. Both showed the same major fatty acids
as palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and punicic acid. Oleic acid (19-21%) and
linoleic acid (20-21%) were found to be the most dominant fatty acids in red
pomegranate, whereas purple pomegranate seed oil was dominated by oleic acid (41-43%) and punicic acid (0-25%). The
punicic acid content of the total lipids of purple pomegranate seed oil (0-5%) was
higher than red pomegranate (9-16%). El-Nemr et al. [37]
stated that stearic acid (22.5%), linoleic acid (10.3%), and oleic acid (5.1%) were found in pomegranate cultivars grown in
Egypt.
The
results of the research indicate that the compounds identified were the
saturated fatty acids palmitic acid (2.38-4.37%) and stearic acid (1.59-3.64%),
monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (7.10-19.86%), and polyunsaturated fatty
acids alpha-linoleic acid (50.90-78.24%) and linoleic acid (5.30-8.76%) [20].
Rowayshed et al. [38] announced that palmitic acid
(4.2%), stearic acid (3.2%), oleic acid (6.5%), linoleic acid (9.4%), and
punicic acid (59.4%) were found in
pomegranate seed oil. Dadashi et al. [39] declared that punicic acid was the highest
level among all fatty acids and found it
ranging from 72.07-73.31%. Palmitic acid (4.04-4.46%), stearic acid
(2.81-3.00%) and oleic acid (8.31-9.77%) were
also found in pomegranate seed oil.
Verardo
et al. [40] informed the
pomegranate seed oil contained significant
amounts of conjugated linolenic acids (CLnA), such as punicic acid, in the
range of 74-85% of the total fatty acid content. Other major fatty acids were oleic, linoleic and palmitic acid,
respectively. Tianet al. [41] reported that the fatty acid
compositions were significantly different among the PSO extracted by soxhlet
extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, and ultrasonic-assisted extraction,
with punicic acid (>65%) being the most dominant using ultrasonic-assisted
extraction. They discovered palmitic acid ranging from 5.34-5.97%, stearic
acid ranging from 3.85-4.65%,
oleic acid ranging from 9.45-10.34%,
linoleic acid
ranging from
12.87-14.89%, and punicic acid ranging from 65.04-67.85%.
Our results were in agreement with the literature.
Qualitatively, in this study, the fatty acid composition was similar to previous
findings [20,38]. Punicic acid ranged between
56.61 to 67.14% of total fatty acids in the present study. These results are in accordance with previous reports, once
Özgül-Yücel [8] obtained values for this fatty acid at 57.3% in pomegranate seed oil grown in Turkey; Melo [35] determined 55% punicic acid
in pomegranate seed oil, Tianet al. [41] found punicic acid ranging
from 65.04 to 67.85%. However, in prior studies, the punicic acid content was found
to be higher than our results. Hernandez et al. [27] found punicic
acid at 66.76-79.29% in seed oil from three commercial pomegranate cultivars; Gölükcüet
al. [22] determined punicic acid at 78.83% in pomegranates grown in
Turkey; Kıralan et al. [28] identified punicic acid ranged
from 70.42-76.17% in 15 commercial pomegranate cultivars in Turkey. Turtyginet al. [29] obtained value for punicic acid
ranged between 70.24 to 89.68%; Dadashi et al. [39] found punicic acid ranging from
72.07-73.31%; Verardoet al. [40] found punicic acid at 74-85%;
Topkafaet al. [30] reportedthatpunicicacidwasfoundto
be 76.57%.
CONCLUSION
Pomegranate is a symbolic fruit with a rich
history in terms of art, medicine, and religion. It is grown in many countries like Turkey, Iran,
India, and China. In this study, five
pomegranate cultivars grown in Turkey were analyzed for fatty acid composition.
Palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic
acid and punicic acid were determined to be in pomegranate seed oil. All cultivar samples included a high rate of
punicic acid. Punicic acid is
also known as omega-5 and is a
conjugated isomer of a-linolenic acid. It has increasingly attracted scientific interest
because of its several potential health benefits. Consequently, pomegranate seed oil is found to be very valuablein terms of health.
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