Pomegranate fruit as a lung cancer chemopreventive agent

Comparative metabolomics reveal intraspecies variability in bioactive compounds of different cultivars of pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.) and their waste by-products

BACKGROUND

The different parts of pomegranate fruit are considered a powerful mixture of bioactive compounds yet the peels and pulps of the fruits are usually discarded and considered as industrial waste. In this work, ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS) was utilized for metabolomics analysis of different parts (peel, pulp, seed and juice) of pomegranate fruit cultivars to verify possible variations among the fruits and their waste products as potential sources of functional constituents.

RESULTS

Orthogonal projection to latent structure-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) coefficient-plot showed enrichment of phenolic compounds such as punicalagin and ellagic acid derivatives in pulp samples while seeds class was enriched in phlorizin, catechin and quercetin, juice class showed abundance of naringenin and pelargonidin-3-pentoside while peels were enriched in anthocyanins and flavonoids including cyanidin diglycoside, quercetin and luteolin glycosides. Although the juice samples of almost all tested cultivars showed remarkable cytotoxic activity, the pulp samples, particularly the Manfalouti cultivar, exhibited the most potent [half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀ ) = 2.367 ± 0.14 μg/mL in MCF-7, IC₅₀  = 3.854 ± 0.23 μg/mL in Hep-G2 cell lines]. OPLS models were constructed for determination of cytotoxicity-associated metabolites among where the coefficients plots revealed tannins; granatin A, ellagic acid derivatives, punicalagin α and β, in addition to anthocyanins and phenolic compounds; cyanidin diglycoside, quercetin, phlorizin, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, naringenin and liquiritin were more pertinent with cytotoxicity of the different parts of pomegranate fruit.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained allow for the full utilization of the resources of pomegranate fruit and its industrial waste as sources of bioactive compounds. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Biochemical Analysis of Organic Acids and Soluble Sugars in Wild and Cultivated Pomegranate Germplasm Based in Pakistan

Pomegranate is famous for its health benefiting chemical and biochemical constituent compounds. The present study was undertaken to characterize pomegranate germplasm for its various fruit traits, acids, and sugar profiling through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Among 11 detected acids and 8 sugars, citric acid and fructose were predominant in 18 domestic and 5 wild genotypes, respectively. Fruit weight, aril weight and wood portion index (WPI) were ranged from 15.82% to 24.42%, 10.99% to 113.78%, and 2.39% to 17.25%, respectively. Genotypes were grouped as sweet, sweet–sour, sour–sweet, and sour based on citric acid contents. Lactic acid and pyruvic acid showed the highest correlation (r = 0.92), however, sour and sweet genotypes had strong association for acids and sugars, respectively. Straddling of dendrogram showed the flow of genetic material in a cultivated location with wild and cultivated pomegranates grouped in different classes, however, wild and sour landraces grouped in the same class with 71% similarity of traits. Based on the observations of the current study, it was concluded that selected wild and arid zones (Multan, Bahawalpur) genotypes are poor in nutrients (acid and sugars) quality, however, genotypes of Rahim-Yar-Khan, Muzafar Garh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have a better composition of sugars and acids.

Bioactive actions of pomegranate fruit extracts on leukemia cell lines in vitro hold promise for new therapeutic agents for leukemia

Studies suggest that pomegranates contain bioactive chemicals with potential for treatment and prevention of cancer. Pomegranate juice extracts (PJE) have been shown to inhibit cellular proliferation and tumor growth and induce cell death via apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines. However, to date, few studies have investigated the potential of PJE in the treatment of leukemia. We investigated the potential effect of PJE on induction of apoptosis and inhibition of cellular proliferation in 8 leukemia cell lines (4 lymphoid and 4 myeloid) and nontumor hematopoietic stem cells (control cells). Apoptosis was assessed by 2 methods: Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining with flow cytometric analysis and 4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) morphological assessment. Cell cycle stage was investigated using propidum iodide staining of DNA content and flow cytometric analysis. Live cell counts were also performed using a trypan exclusion assay. PJE significantly induced apoptosis in all cell lines, including nontumor control cells, although lymphoid cells and 2 of the myeloid cell lines were more sensitive. Furthermore, PJE induced cell cycle arrest. These results were confirmed by DAPI analysis and viable cell counts using trypan blue exclusion assay. Our results provide evidence that PJE contain bioactive compounds that could be used in the treatment of leukemia.