Fatty acid composition and antioxidant capacity of pomegranate seed oil

Abstract

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a perennial herb with its long history and has been the symbol of health, fertility and spirituality. In addition to being consumed as fresh fruit, pomegranate is consumed as pomegranate juice, syrup, pomegranate syrup and many different product groups. In particular, pomegranate seeds, which are often produced as waste, are evaluated separately in terms of their fatty acid composition and antioxidant capacity. In this study, the fatty acid composition of pomegranate seed oils was determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS). Total antioxidant activity analysis was performed using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method and antioxidant activity value was determined as trolox equivalent (TE). In the study, it was determined that the antioxidant capacity was 171.44 mg TE / 100g. According to GC / MS analysis, it was determined that the most dominant fatty acid was punicic Acid (68.12%). Oleic acid (8.51%), linoleic acid (6.71%) and palmitic acid (5.55%) are the highest fatty acids after punicic acid. It is clear that apart from the widespread consumption of pomegranate fruit, which is very beneficial for health, its seeds can also be used.