Promising Source of Phytochemicals, Antioxidants, and Antibacterial Actions of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Juice Extracts Using Different Solvents

Background

The highly nutritious pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is valued for its numerous bioactive substances, such as phenols, flavonoids, and tannins, which provide to its numerous health-enhancing properties.

Objectives

The nutritional composition, antioxidant properties, and antimicrobial properties of pomegranate fruit juice preparations were examined in this work by using solvents with different polarity (aqueous ethanol, ethyl acetate and hexane).

Materials and Methods

Qualitative and quantitative analyses confirmed that aqueous ethanol extracts consist the highest levels of total phenolics and flavonoids, which strongly correlated with antioxidant activity.

Results

Antioxidant assays revealed that aqueous ethanol extracts demonstrated the strongest radical scavenging capacity (IC₅₀ = 15.20 µg/mL) and highest ferric reducing power (13.1±0.6 mg AAE/g DW) compared with other extracts. In antibacterial screening, aqueous ethanol extracts displayed broad-spectrum inhibitory effects, particularly against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Conclusion

These findings highlight that solvent choice plays a critical role in extracting phytochemicals from pomegranate juice and that aqueous ethanol yields extracts with potent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This study exposes the possible outcomes of pomegranate juice as a natural basis of functional biologically active substances for therapeutic and nutraceutical applications.