Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Urease Inhibitory Activities of Phenolics-Rich Pomegranate Peel Hydro-Alcoholic Extracts

This study was aimed at exploring biological properties of PoP for their potential use as an ingredient of choice in nutraceuticals and ethnic drug formulations. Pomegranate peel extracts (PoPx), derived from hydro-alcoholic extracts were evaluated for antioxidant, antimicrobial and potential antiulcer properties. Higher levels of total phenolics (427.19 mgGAE/g of extracts) recovered from hydro-alcoholic extracts exhibited significant (P < 0.05) ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals scavenging activity. PoPx inhibited urease activity by 97.9% and IC50 for all extracts was estimated to be in a range of 30–44.4 μM. Potent inhibitory effects of PoP extracts were observed against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Aspergillus niger and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was recorded between 0.25–0.89 mg/mL. The study indicates that PoPx of the white rind cultivar is a potential source of active biomolecules that could further be explored as a source of bioactive compounds and therapeutic agent against various ailments. Practical Applications The findings of this study propose PoP of white rind cultivar as valuable waste of pomegranate juice processing industry. The proposed methodology for PoPx recovery and the bioactivities reported could equally benefit the processors for low cost recovery of protective biomolecules. The study further defines admissible levels of extracts being exploited by the industry for manufacturing nutraceuticals, functional food preparations and designing ethnopharmacological drugs of choice.