Pomegranate Pomace Extract with Antioxidant, Anticancer, Antimicrobial, and Antiviral Activity Enhances the Quality of Strawberry-Yogurt Smoothie

Abstract

Valorizing the wastes of the food industry sector as additives in foods and beverages enhances human health and preserves the environment. In this study, pomegranate pomace (PP) was obtained from the company Schweppes and exposed to the production of polyphenols and fiber-enriched fractions, which were subsequently included in a strawberry-yogurt smoothie (SYS). The PP is rich in carbohydrates and fibers and has high water-absorption capacity (WAC) and oil-absorption capacity (OAC) values. The LC/MS phenolic profile of the PP extract indicated that punicalagin (199 g/L) was the main compound, followed by granatin B (60 g/L) and pedunculagin A (52 g/L). Because of the high phenolic content of PP extract, it (p ≤ 0.05) has high antioxidant activity with SC50 of 200 µg/mL, besides scavenging 95% of DPPH radicals compared to ascorbic acid (92%); consequently, it reduced lung cancer cell lines’ viability to 86%, and increased caspase-3 activity. Additionally, it inhibited the growth of pathogenic bacteria and fungi i.e., L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, A. niger, and C. glabrata, in the 45–160 µg/mL concentration range while killing the tested isolates with 80–290 µg/mL concentrations. These isolates were selected based on the microbial count of spoiled smoothie samples and were identified at the gene level by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The interaction between Spike and ACE2 was inhibited by 75.6%. The PP extract at four levels (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.4 mg/mL) was added to strawberry-yogurt smoothie formulations. During 2 months storage at 4 °C, the pH values, vitamin C, and total sugars of all SYS decreased. However, the decreases were gradually mitigated in PP-SYS because of the high phenolic content in the PP extract compared to the control. The PP-SYS3 and PP-SYS4 scored higher in flavor, color, and texture than in other samples. In contrast, acidity, fat, and total soluble solids (TSS) increased at the end of the storage period. High fat and TSS content are observed in PP-SYS because of the high fiber content in PP. The PP extract (1.2 and 1.6 mg/mL) decreases the color differences and reduces harmful microbes in PP-SYS compared to the control. Using pomegranate pomace as a source of polyphenols and fiber in functional foods enhances SYS’s physiochemical and sensory qualities.

Extracts of plant-based yogurts inhibit recombinant human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (rhACE2) activity

“…In comparison, quercetin IC 50 was 8.9 µg/mL under similar assay conditions (Liu et al, 2020). Pomegranate peel extract inhibited Spike/ACE2 binding by 50% at 0.4-0.6 mg/mL (Alsubhi et al, 2022). Among fruits and vegetables, hot water extracts of soy, tomato, cucumber, and asparagus inhibited >50% Hasegawa et al…”

The Risk of Breast Cancer between Western and Mediterranean Dietary Patterns

“…Furthermore, the consumption of certain naturally derived dietary products at high levels may decrease the likelihood of tumor recurrence and enhance survival in breast cancer patients [73]. Many nutritional natural products found in the Mediterranean area, including pomegranate [74,75], edible mushrooms [76,77], marine algae [78,79], curcumin [80,81], whole-grain cereals [82,83], citrus fruit [84,85], grapes [86,87], and cucumber [88,89], have been shown in experimental studies to disrupt the development and progression of cancer via the application of anticancer or antineoplastic activity.…”

Fruit waste: a current perspective for the sustainable production of pharmacological, nutraceutical, and bioactive resources

“…It shows a broad spectrum of anti-microbial activity against various pathogenic and multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. Several studies reported that pomegranate peel methanolic extracts had antimicrobial activity against several pathogenic and foodborne bacterial strains like S. aureus, B. cereus, L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, E. coli, Salmonella typhi Bacillus megaterium , and B. subtilis ( Table 2 ; Hasan et al, 2018 ; Abou El-Nour, 2019 ; Belgacem et al, 2020 ; Alsubhi et al, 2022 ). Whereas, ethyl acetate crude extract exhibited antibacterial activity in plant pathogenic bacteria ( Xanthomonas gardneri, Pectobacterium carotovorum , and Ralstonia solanacearum ) ( Khaleel et al, 2018 ).…”