Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterization of a Potential Nutraceutical Ingredient: Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Seed Oil Unsaponifiable Fraction

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The chemical fingerprinting of the unsaponifiable fraction of different Punica granatum seed oils was performed in order to evaluate their potential as a functional food ingredient. Qualitative and quantitative determinations of tocopherol, aliphatic alcohol (including policosanol), squalene, phytosterols and triterpene contents were performed by GC-MS. A high yield (3.1–4.2%) of unsaponifiable matter was obtained and consistent levels of squalene (up to 800 mg/kg) and policosanol (118–185 mg/kg) were noticed. β-sitosterol (up to 8069 mg/kg) and cycloartenol (5916–7766 mg/kg) were predominant in phytosterol and triterpene fractions, while β- and δ-tocopherol were the most abundant vitamin E forms. Some minor variations were noticed between samples. From the results obtained, it can be suggested that the seed oil of P. granatum can be considered an interesting alimentary source of substances of nutraceutical value involved in the modulation of cholesterol metabolism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Espín JC, García-Conesa MT, Tomás-Barberán FA (2007) Nutraceuticals: facts and fiction. Phytochemistry 68:2986–3008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Zeisel SH (1999) Regulation of nutraceuticals. Science 285:1854

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Katan MB (1999) Functional foods. Lancet 354:794

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Jones PJ, Jew S (2007) Functional food development: concept to reality. Trends Food Sci Technol 18:387–390

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Covas MI, Ruiz-Gutiérrez V, De La Torre R, Kafatos A, Lamuela-Raventós RM, Osada J, Owen RW, Visioli F (2006) Minor components of olive oil: evidence to date of health benefits in humans. Nutr Rev 64:20–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. de Deckere EA, Korver O (1996) Minor constituents of rice bran oil as functional foods. Nutr Rev 54:120–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Nicolosi RJ, Rogers EJ, Ausman LM, Rogers EJ (1997) Health benefits of unsaponifiable constituents of fats and oils. In: Yalpani M (ed) Technologies for healthy foods & nutraceuticals. ATL Press, Inc., Shrewsbury

    Google Scholar 

  8. Ryan E, Galvin K, O’Connor TP, Maguire AR, O’Brien NM (2007) Phytosterol, squalene, tocopherol content and fatty acid profile of selected seeds, grains, and legumes. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 62:85–91

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. O’Byrne S, Grundy L, Packer S, Devaraj K, Baldenius PP, Hoppe K, Kraemer I, Jialal MG (2000) Studies of LDL oxidation following α-, γ-, or δ-tocotrienyl acetate supplementation of hypercholesterolemic humans. Free Radic Biol Med 29:834–845

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Leonhardt W, Hanefeld M, Schaper F (1999) Diminished susceptibility to in vitro oxidation of low-density lipoproteins in hypercholesterolemia: key role of alpha-tocopherol content. Atherosclerosis 144:103–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ostlund RE, Racette SB, Stenson WF (2002) Effect of trace components of dietary fat on cholesterol metabolism: phytosterols, oxysterols and squalene. Nutr Rev 60:349–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. He HP, Corke H (2003) Oil and squalene in amaranthus grain and leaf. J Agric Food Chem 51:7913–7920

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Chan P, Tomlinson B, Lee CB, Lee YS (1996) Effectiveness and safety of low-dose pravastatin and squalene, alone and in combination, in elderly patients with hypercholesterolemia. J Clin Pharm 36:422–427

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Zhang Z, Yeung WK, Huang Y, Chen ZY (2002) Effect of squalene and shark liver oil on serum cholesterol level in hamsters. Int J Food Sci Nutr 53:411–418

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Rao CV, Newmark HL, Reddy BS (1998) Chemopreventive effect of squalene on colon cancer. Carcinogenesis 19:287–290

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kassis AN, Marinangeli CPF, Jones PJH (2009) Reply to the discussion by Sergei V Jargin on Evaluation of cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant properties of sugar cane policosanols in hamsters and humans. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 34:76–77

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lansky EP, Newman RA (2007) Punica granatum (pomegranate) and its potential for prevention and treatment of inflammation and cancer. J Ethnopharmacol 109:177–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Yamasaki T, Kitagawa N, Koyanagi H, Chujo H, Maeda J, Kohno-Murase J, Imamura H, Tachibana K, Yamada R (2006) Dietary effect of pomegranate seed oil on immune function and lipid metabolism in mice. Nutrition 22:54–59

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Kohno H, Suzuki R, Yasui Y, Hosokawa M, Miyashita K, Tanaka T (2004) Pomegranate seed oil rich in conjugated linolenic acid suppresses chemically induced colon carcinogenesis in rats. Cancer Sci 95:481–486

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Kim ND, Mehta R, Yu W, Neeman I, Livney T, Amichay A, Poirier D, Nicholls P, Kirby A, Jiang W, Mansel R, Ramachandran C, Rabi T, Kaplan B, Lansky E (2002) Chemopreventive and adjuvant therapeutic potential of pomegranate (Punica granatum) for human breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 71:203–217

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. de Nigris F, Balestrieri ML, Williams-Ignarro S, D’Armiento FP, Fiorito C, Ignarro LJ, Napoli C (2007) The influence of pomegranate fruit extract in comparison to regular pomegranate juice and seed oil on nitric oxide and arterial function in obese Zucker rats. Nitric Oxide 17:50–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Lansky EP, Harrison G, Froom P, Jiang WG (2005) Pomegranate (Punica granatum) pure chemicals show possible synergistic inhibition of human PC-3 prostate cancer cell invasion across MatrigelTM. Vest New Drugs 23:121–122

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Mukherjee C, Bhattacharyya DK (2006) Dietary effect of punicic acid on oxidative behavior and lipid profiles of brain, heart, liver and kidney tissue lipid of rats. J Lipid Sci Technol 38:124–128

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Saito K, Kohno M, Yoshizaki F, Niwano Y (2008) Extensive screening for edible herbal extracts with potent scavenging activity against superoxide anions. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 63:65–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Mukherjee C, Bhattacharyya S, Ghosh S, Bhattacharyya DK (2002) Dietary effects of punicic acid on the composition and peroxidation of rat plasma lipid. J Oleo Sci 51:513–522

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kaufman M, Wiesman Z (2007) Pomegranate oil analysis with emphasis on MALDI-TOF triacylglycerol fingerprinting. J Agric Food Chem 55:10405–10413

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Gopala Krishna AG, Prashanth PA, Pragasam A, Raghavendra KV, Khatoon S (2003) Unsaponifiable matter and oxidative stability of commercial produced indian rice bran oils. J Food Lipids 10:329–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Gutfinger T, Letan A (1974) Studies on the unsaponifiables in several vegetable oils. Lipids 9:658–663

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Ben-Arie R, Segal N, Guelfat-Reich S (1984) The maturation and ripening of the ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 109:898–902

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Mozzon M, Bocci F, Frega N (1998) A study on the lipidic fraction extracted from high oleic sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus L.) during the ripening process. J Agric Food Chem 46:4198–4202

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Huang ZR, Lin YK, Fang JY (2009) Biological and pharmacological activities of squalene and related compounds: potential uses in cosmetic dermatology. Molecules 14:540–554

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Padley FB, Gunstone FD, Harwood JL (1994) Occurrence and characteristics of oils and fats. In: Gunstone FD, Harwood JL, Padley FB (eds) The lipid handbook. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 127–130

    Google Scholar 

  33. Sanclemente T, Marques-Lopes I, Puzo J, Garcia-Oltin AL (2009) Role of naturally-occurring plant sterols on intestinal cholesterol absorption and plasmatic levels. J Physiol Biochem 65:87–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Ostlund RE (2004) Phytosterols and cholesterol metabolism. Curr Opin Lipidol 15:37–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. EFSA (2008) Plant sterols and blood cholesterol. EFSA J 781:1–12

    Google Scholar 

  36. Cicero AFG, De Rosa G (2005) Rice bran and its main components: potential role in the management of coronary risk factors. Curr Top Nutraceutical Res 3:29–46

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Takeoka GR, Dao LT, Wong RY, Lundin RE, Mahoney NE (2001) Identification of benzethonium chloride in commercial grapefruit seed extracts. J Agric Food Chem 49:316–320

    Google Scholar 

  38. Harrabi S, Boukhchina S, Kallel H, Mayer PM (2009) Policosanol distribution and accumulation in developing corn kernels. Food Chem 115:918–923

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Irmak S, Dunford NT, Milligan J (2006) Policosanol contents of beeswax, sugar cane and wheat extracts. Food Chem 95:312–318

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Lopez-Lopez A, Rodriguez-Gomez F, Ruiz-Mendez MV, Cortes-Delgado A, Garrido-Fernandez A (2009) Sterols, fatty alcohol and triterpenic alcohol changes during ripe table olive processing. Food Chem 117:127–134

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Chimica Organica e Industriale, Università degli Studi di Parma, Viale G. Usberti 17A, 43100, Parma, Italy

    Augusta Caligiani, Francesca Bonzanini, Gerardo Palla & Martina Cirlini

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia Evolutiva e Funzionale – Sezione di Biologia Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Parma, Viale G. Usberti 11A, 43100, Parma, Italy

    Renato Bruni

Authors
  1. Augusta Caligiani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francesca Bonzanini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gerardo Palla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Martina Cirlini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Renato Bruni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renato Bruni.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Caligiani, A., Bonzanini, F., Palla, G. et al. Characterization of a Potential Nutraceutical Ingredient: Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Seed Oil Unsaponifiable Fraction. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 65, 277–283 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-010-0173-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-010-0173-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation