Chemical Analyses and Antimicrobial Activity of Nine Kinds of Unifloral Chinese Honeys Compared to Manuka Honey (12+ and 20+)

Honey has good antimicrobial properties and can be used for medical treatment. The antimicrobial properties of unifloral honey varieties are different. In this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of nine kinds of Chinese monofloral honeys. In addition, headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) technology was used to detect their volatile components. The relevant results are as follows: 1. The agar diffusion test showed that the diameter of inhibition zone against Staphylococcus aureus of Fennel honey (21.50 ± 0.41 mm), Agastache honey (20.74 ± 0.37 mm), and Pomegranate honey (18.16 ± 0.11 mm) was larger than that of Manuka 12+ honey (14.27 ± 0.10 mm) and Manuka 20+ honey (16.52 ± 0.12 mm). The antimicrobial activity of Chinese honey depends on hydrogen peroxide. 2. The total antioxidant capacity of Fennel honey, Agastache honey, and Pomegranate honey was higher than that of other Chinese honeys. There was a significant positive correlation between the total antioxidant capacity and the total phenol content of Chinese honey (r = 0.958). The correlation coefficient between the chroma value of Chinese honey and the total antioxidant and the diameter of inhibition zone was 0.940 and 0.746, respectively. The analyzed dark honeys had better antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. 3. There were significant differences in volatile components among Fennel honey, Agastache honey, Pomegranate honey, and Manuka honey. Hexanal-D and Heptanol were the characteristic components of Fennel honey and Pomegranate honey, respectively. Ethyl 2-methylbutyrate and 3-methylpentanoic acids were the unique compounds of Agastache honey. The flavor fingerprints of the honey samples from different plants can be successfully built using HS-GC-IMS and principal component analysis (PCA) based on their volatile compounds. Fennel honey, Agastache honey, and Pomegranate honey are Chinese honey varieties with excellent antimicrobial properties, and have the potential to be developed into medical grade honey.     

A new sensitive and selective sensor for heavy metal ions based on tannin extracted from the skin of Punica granatum L

This article presents the development of a sensor made from a gold electrode and a receiving polymeric membrane based on tannin extracted from the skin of Punica granatum. L (pomegranate) for real-time detection of heavy metals in a hydrous environment. The basic principle of this device is the complexing (chelating) of metal ions through the adjacent hydroxyl groups contained in the chemical structures of the tannins. The electrochemical characterisation was performed by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and square wave voltammetry. Other morphological and structural analyses were performed by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and atomic-force microscopy. The results obtained showed the high sensitivity of the developed device (detection limits of 6.35 × 10^?9 g L^?1 for Cu²⁺, 1.1 × 10^?8 g L^?1 for Cd²⁺ and 2 × 10^?7 g L^?1 for Pb²⁺) and the possibility of simultaneously detecting several heavy metals, each one in a highly selective manner with highly acceptable response time (48s).     

Carbon molecular sieve based micro‐matrix‐solid‐phase dispersion for the extraction of polyphenols in pomegranate peel by UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS

A rapid, simple, and efficient sample extraction method based on micro‐matrix‐solid‐phase dispersion (micro‐MSPD) was applied to the extraction of polyphenols from pomegranate peel. Five target analytes were determined by ultra‐HPLC coupled with Q‐TOF/MS. Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) was firstly used as dispersant to improve extraction efficiency in micro‐MSPD. The major micro‐MSPD parameters, such as type of dispersant, amount of dispersant, grinding time, and the type and the volume of elution solvents, were studied and optimized. Under optimized conditions, 26 mg of pomegranate peel was dispersed with 32.5 mg of CMS, the grinding time was selected as 90 s, the dispersed sample was eluted with 100 μL of methanol. Results showed that the proposed method was of good linearity for concentrations of analytes against their peak areas (coefficient of determination r² > 0.990), the LOD was as low as 3.2 ng/mL, and the spiking recoveries were between 88.1 and 106%. Satisfactory results were obtained for the extraction of gallic acid, punicalagin A, punicalagin B, catechin, and ellagic acid from pomegranate peel sample, which demonstrated nice reliability and high sensitivity of this approach.     

Hybrid solvothermal/sonochemical-mediated synthesis of ZnO NPs generative of OH radicals: Photoluminescent approach to evaluate OH scavenging activity of Egyptian and Yemeni Punica granatum arils extract

Zinc oxide NPs were synthesized solvothermally within sonochemical mediation and characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, elemental mapping, TEM and UV–vis. spectrophotometry. To evaluate the hydroxyl radicals (OH) scavenging activity of arils extract of Egyptian (EGY-PAM) and Yemeni Punica granatum (YEM-PAM), the developed zinc oxide nano particles (ZnO NPs) as a highly productive source of hydroxyl radicals (under Solar-illumination) was used. The yield of OH was trapped and probed via fluorimetric monitoring. This suits the first sensitive/selective photoluminescent avenue to evaluate the OH scavenging activity. The high percentage of DPPH radical scavenging reflected higher contents of phenolics, flavonoids, and anthocyanins that were found in EGY-PAM and YEM-PAM. Although, some secondary metabolites contents were significantly different in EGY-PAM and YEM-PAM, the traditional DPPH radical scavenging methodology revealed insignificant IC₅₀. Unlike, the developed fluorimetric probing, sensitively discriminated the OH scavenging activity with IC₅₀ (105.7 µg/mL) and lower rate of OH productivity (k = 0.031 min⁻¹) in case of EGY-PAM in comparison to IC₅₀ (153.4 µg/mL) and higher rate of OH productivity (k = 0.053 min⁻¹) for YEM-PAM. Our findings are interestingly superior to the TBHQ that is synthetic antioxidant. Moreover, our developed methodology for fluorimetric probing of OH radicals scavenging, recommends EGY-PAM as OH radicals scavenger for diabetic patients while YEM-PAM exhibited a better OH radicals scavenging appropriate for high blood pressure patients. More interestingly, EGY-PAM and YEM-PAM exhibited high anticancer potentiality. The aforementioned OH and DPPH scavenging activities as well as the anticancer potentiality present EGY-PAM and YEM-PAM as promising sources of natural antioxidants, that may have crucial roles in some chronic diseases such as diabetics and hypertension in addition to cancer therapeutic protocols.     

石榴果汁饮品的研制与开发

石榴被称为药食兼用的果中之王，由于其特殊的性质，严重制约了它的深加工和规模化生产，为此，本文经过多次试验，在石榴果汁饮品加工方法及品质的保障等方面取得了较大的进展，使食用不便的石榴被加工成富有保健功效的特色果汁，具有许多产品无法比拟的独到特点。     

Phytochemical study,potential cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of selected food byproducts (Pomegranate peel,Rice bran,Rice straw & Mulberry bark)

Abstract

The aim of the study is to evaluate common food by-products (Pomegranate peel, Rice bran, Rice straw & Mulberry bark) to screen out their medicinal importance such as cytotoxic & antioxidant activities. HPLC revealed that all tested samples were rich in phenolics. Tested samples exerted significant antioxidant activity with high potency to Pomegranate peel. All tested extracts were able to reduce cell viability of tested cell lines in a dose-response manner after treatment. In most cases, the IC50 values were under 30 μg/ml except IC50 of pomegranate peel against breast cell line (42.4?ug/ml). The antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of pomegranate peel, rice bran, rice straw and mulberry bark have been attributed to synergetic effects of phenolic phytochemicals.     

微波消解-等离子体原子发射光谱法测定石榴皮和石榴籽中微量元素

采用微波消解样品,电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定了石榴皮和石榴籽中K、Ca、Mg、Fe、Al、Cu、Zn、Mn、Na、Li、P、S 12种微量元素的含量。在最佳仪器工作条件下,各元素的加标回收率为91.8%～103.1%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.70%～2.68%。实验结果可为石榴皮和石榴籽中微量元素与其药效的相关性提供科学依据。     

Folin-Ciocalteu比色法测定石榴皮提取物中的多酚

研究Folin-Ciocalteu比色法测定石榴皮提取物中多酚含量的优化条件,并对该方法的稳定性、精密度、重现性、回收率进行了实验。结果表明,石榴皮提取物中多酚含量测定的最佳条件为:Folin-Ciocalteu试剂1.00mL、10.0g/100mL Na2CO33.00mL、反应温度25℃、反应时间120min、测定波长672nm,所用没食子酸标准品在10—100μg/mL范围内与吸光度呈良好的线性关系(y=0.0098x+0.0148,R2=0.9982)。该法简便、快速、准确,是检测石榴皮提取物中总多酚的可靠方法。     

A new fluorescent derivatization reagent and its application to free fatty acid analysis in pomegranate samples using HPLC with fluorescence detection

A new fluorescent labeling reagent has been developed for the determination of fatty acids (FAs) by HPLC with fluorescence detection. The derivatization conditions including the amount of derivatization reagent, temperature, and type of catalyst were investigated, the results indicated that the reaction proceeded within 30 min at 90°C in the presence of K₂CO₃ catalyst. The maximal yield was obtained with a four‐ to fivefold molar reagent excess. The derivatives exhibited strong fluorescence with an excitation maximum at λ_ex = 245 nm and an emission maximum at λ_em = 410 nm. Twenty‐five FA derivatives were well separated by RP‐HPLC on a Hypersil BDS C₈ column in combination with gradient elution. All FAs were found to give excellent linear responses with correlation coefficients >0.9992. The method gave a low LOQ of 0.85–5.5 ng/mL (S/N of 10). The developed method was employed to analyze free FAs (FFAs) composition in pomegranate samples without any purification. FFAs in samples were doubly identified by HPLC retention time and protonated molecular ion corresponding to m/z [M+H]⁺. This newly developed method allows a highly sensitive determination of trace FFAs from pomegranate and other foodstuffs.     

The modification of pomegranate polyphenol with ultrasound improves mechanical,antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of tuna skin collagen-chitosan film

To produce an edible film with high mechanical and physicochemical properties, Tuna skin collagen-chitosan (TSC-CTS) composite films were prepared by incorporating ultrasound (UT) and pomegranate polyphenols including gallic acid (GA), tannic acid (TA), and ellagic acid (EA), respectively. The tensile strength and the DPPH scavenging activity of the GA-UT-TSC-CTS film (ultrasound frequency of 28 ± 0.5 kHz, power of 100 W/L, sweep frequency cycle of 100 ms, duty ratio of 77% and time of 10 min; GA concentration of 1.0 g/L and reaction time of 10 min) were increased by 47.03% and 24.16 folds, respectively compared to the control (TSC-CTS film). Meanwhile, light transmittance and water vapor permeability of the GA-UT-TSC-CTS film were decreased by 29.26% and 15.70%, respectively. These positive modification results were attributed to the altered structure during the film formation process, which were verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), circular dichroism (CD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetry results. Moreover, the GA-UT-TSC-CTS film possessed moderate thermal stability and color indexes and improved antibacterial activity. The antibacterial effect of the film against Bacillus subtilis was the highest, followed by Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, the combination modification of gallic acid and ultrasound was an efficient modification method to improve the mechanical, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of edible TSC-CTS films.