Development of Sustainable Extraction Processes for the Recovery of Antioxidants from Punica granatum L. Peel.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
- 2BioStructures Lab, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT@NEST), 56127 Pisa, Italy.
- 3Laboratorio NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
- 4Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56100 Pisa, Italy.
- 5Center for Instrument Sharing, University of Pisa (CISUP), Lungarno Pacinotti 43, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
- 6Interdepartmental Research Center Nutrafood, Nutraceuticals and Food for Health, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Abstract
Background
Pomegranate peel, a major by-product of the food industry, represents an underexploited source of valuable bioactive compounds. In the framework of a circular economy approach, this study aimed to develop a sustainable and solvent-free extraction strategy based on Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation for the recovery of antioxidant and antimicrobial phytochemicals from pomegranate peel waste.Methods
Pomegranate peel was subjected to fermentation for 18, 24, 48, and 72 h, and the resulting extracts (YE_18h, YE_24h, YE_48h, and YE_72h), together with a conventionally obtained chemical extract (CE), were evaluated for their antioxidant activity. Based on its superior antioxidant activity, the extract obtained after 48 h of fermentation (YE_48h) was selected for ellagic acid quantification by HPLC and characterization by UHPLC-HRMS (Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry). Antibacterial activity of YE_48h, in comparison with CE, was assessed against six Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains.Results
Among the fermented samples, the extract obtained after 48 h of fermentation (YE_48h) exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, showing an IC₅₀ value lower than that of a conventional chemical extract. Quantitative HPLC analysis revealed a remarkable enhancement in ellagic acid content, with YE_48h containing approximately 18-fold higher levels of ellagic acid than the conventional chemical extraction. UHPLC-HRMS fingerprinting further demonstrated the presence of additional bioactive phenolic compounds, including punicalagin isomers I and II and pedunculagin isomer I, which are known for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The antibacterial assay demonstrated that fermentation modulated the antimicrobial profile of the extracts in a strain-dependent manner.Conclusions
S. cerevisiae-mediated fermentation is an efficient and environmentally friendly approach for the valorization of pomegranate peel by-products, enhancing the release of bioactive compounds while generating extracts with promising antioxidant and selective antibacterial properties.
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BibTeX
@article{sagona2026development,
title = {{Development of Sustainable Extraction Processes for the Recovery of Antioxidants from Punica granatum L. Peel.}},
author = {Simona Sagona and Francesco Margheriti and Matteo Banti and Fabio Di Ricco and Lorenzo Raffellini and Clementina Manera and Giuseppe Saccomanni and Filippo Fratini and Marinella De Leo and Simona Rapposelli},
journal = {Foods (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/foods15203764},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940400},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Development of Sustainable Extraction Processes for the Recovery of Antioxidants from Punica granatum L. Peel.
AU - Simona Sagona
AU - Francesco Margheriti
AU - Matteo Banti
AU - Fabio Di Ricco
AU - Lorenzo Raffellini
AU - Clementina Manera
AU - Giuseppe Saccomanni
AU - Filippo Fratini
AU - Marinella De Leo
AU - Simona Rapposelli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Foods (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/foods15203764
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940400
AB - Background Pomegranate peel, a major by-product of the food industry, represents an underexploited source of valuable bioactive compounds. In the framework of a circular economy approach, this study aimed to develop a sustainable and solvent-free extraction strategy based on Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation for the recovery of antioxidant and antimicrobial phytochemicals from pomegranate peel waste.Methods Pomegranate peel was subjected to fermentation for 18, 24, 48, and 72 h, and the resulting extracts (YE_18h, YE_24h, YE_48h, and YE_72h), together with a conventionally obtained chemical extract (CE), were evaluated for their antioxidant activity. Based on its superior antioxidant activity, the extract obtained after 48 h of fermentation (YE_48h) was selected for ellagic acid quantification by HPLC and characterization by UHPLC-HRMS (Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry). Antibacterial activity of YE_48h, in comparison with CE, was assessed against six Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains.Results Among the fermented samples, the extract obtained after 48 h of fermentation (YE_48h) exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, showing an IC₅₀ value lower than that of a conventional chemical extract. Quantitative HPLC analysis revealed a remarkable enhancement in ellagic acid content, with YE_48h containing approximately 18-fold higher levels of ellagic acid than the conventional chemical extraction. UHPLC-HRMS fingerprinting further demonstrated the presence of additional bioactive phenolic compounds, including punicalagin isomers I and II and pedunculagin isomer I, which are known for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The antibacterial assay demonstrated that fermentation modulated the antimicrobial profile of the extracts in a strain-dependent manner.Conclusions S. cerevisiae-mediated fermentation is an efficient and environmentally friendly approach for the valorization of pomegranate peel by-products, enhancing the release of bioactive compounds while generating extracts with promising antioxidant and selective antibacterial properties.
SN - 2304-8158
ER -