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UNDERGRADUATE WRITING Pomegranate seed oil as a dietary supplement Pui Yee Lee, Student, University of Otago This article was awarded second prize in the NZIFST Undergraduate Writing Competition 2011. The annual competition is open to undergraduate food science and food technology students who are invited to write on any technical subject or latest development in the food science and technology field that may be important to the consumer. Introduction Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a shrub of the family Punicaceae. It is an ancient, mystical fruit which has existed over hundreds of years throughout the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, China, India, America and Mexico. 7 The Pomegranate plant is considered either a small tree or a large plant. Its fruit is grenade-shaped, deep red in colour, with leathery skin. 4 Pomegranates are mostly consumed fresh and may also be used to produce fruit juice, wine and canned food in the food industry. Pomegranate seeds remain as a waste after processing. Hence, the seeds are subjected to oil extraction to make additional profits from the plants. 9 Recently, pomegranates have been identified as a functional food in Asia and in the United States, where women appreciate them as a health and beauty food. Numerous pomegranate products such as pomegranate juice, pomegranate seed oil (PSO), and pomegranate powder have been introduced widely to the world. 1 What is pomegranate seed oil? PSO was launched by Extracts & Ingredients Ltd, a New Jersey, USA Company, in 2004. With a price range of around USD 450 (approximately NZD572.16) to USD525 (approximately NZD667.52) per litre, it is said to contain conjugated fatty acids and significant bioactive compounds which are useful as anti-inflammatory and anti-aging agents in relevant products. 5 Pomegranate fruit can be divided into three parts, which are the juice, seed and the peel. 7 The fruit contains considerable amounts of seeds, ranging between 40g and 100g per kg of fruit weight depending on the cultivar. PSO is extracted from the pomegranate seed. It contains Vitamin E, sterols and punicic acid which may benefit human health.⁹ Pomegranate juice and PSO – comparing bioactives The issue of most concern to consumers is how to differentiate the benefits of pomegranate juice and PSO. The major difference between pomegranate juice and PSO is that pomegranate juice has high amount of polyphenolic compounds, whereas PSO has no polyphenolic compounds. Polyphenolic compounds are the powerful antioxidants in pomegranate juice that are said to help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. Instead of polyphenolic compounds, PSO has high amount of punicic acid which was reported to decrease weight gain and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Overall, PSO and pomegranate juice have different bio-active compounds and thus exert different physiological effects. 8 Health benefits PSO contains a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which are essential fatty acids such as omega 3 and omega 6. Hence, PSO may have a variety of health benefits among which have been claims for the prevention of diseases such as breast, colon and prostate cancer and also cardiovascular disease. 9 An experiment carried out on mice found that PSO supplemented mice gain significantly less total body weight than those mice not supplemented with PSO. This suggests that PSO may alter the way that dietary fat interacts with the brain and hence increase fat metabolism or energy expenditure which results in decreasing weight gains. 8 Additionally, the result also showed that PSO supplemented mice have improved in insulin sensitivity associated with a decrease in the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The proposed human dose of 3g of PSO per day (50 mg/kg body weight/ day approx), either by supplements or consumption of pomegranate fruit, may have beneficial health effects. 3 Thus, PSO is potentially valuable in terms of health. Toxicology Pomegranate has been widely consumed by humans in many different cultures for thousands of years, largely without adverse effects. High 48 Food New Zealand
UNDERGRADUATE WRITING Conclusion Pomegranate seed oil is rapidly gaining popularity throughout the world due to health concerns. Dietary PSO supplementation has been indicated to alleviate diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance and to prevent anti-carcinogenic diseases. In the past, PSO has faced technical barriers which limited its production and consumption. Recent years have seen improved technologies which are able to achieve higher yields in a shorter time with lower cost. Thus, manufacturing of PSO is increasing and hence the food industry is able to provide PSO to benefit a larger population. In future, more studies are required to evaluate the physiological functions of punicic acid, as well as the safety concerns, especially in humans. Editor’s note Punicic acid (also called trichosanic acid) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, 18:3 (n-5). It contains one trans double bond. It is named for the pomegranate, (Punica granatum) Punicic acid is a conjugated linolenic acid or ClnA; i.e. it has three conjugated double bonds. It is chemically similar to the conjugated linoleic acids, or CLA, which have two. In lab rats, it was found that punicic acid was converted to the CLA rumenic acid (9Z11E-CLA). In vitro, it shows anticancer activity against prostate cancer cells. OLETF rats – a strain which becomes obese – remained relatively lean when punicic acid was added to their feed. However because the oil contains> 60% of this unusual fatty acid not normally consumed by humans it would be treated with caution by FSANZ the same way that CLA is treated. Dr Laurence Eyres dosages of PSO are not recommended. 6 Generally, PSO is considered safe for human consumption. However, some toxicity is known: both severe allergic reactions from eating the fruit and oesophageal cancer from constant consumption of roughly ground pomegranate seeds have been reported. 7 Technical challenges PSO is more expensive than other oils because it is difficult and costly to process and cold-press. Retail prices for PSO skin care products range from USD18 (approximately NZD22.89) for the bar and USD68 (approximately NZD86.46) for the cream. 2 Removing pomegranate peel to get the seeds is difficult in practice. A new machine has been introduced in Israel to separate the pomegranate seeds. The seed proportion content of the pomegranate is 3% of fruit weight, of which 20% is oil. 3 Traditionally, Soxhlet Extraction was utilised in extracting PSO. Cold pressing oil extraction was introduced as an alternative to the traditional high temperature solvent extraction, but it offers low yields. To improve yield, and reduce costs, Superheated Hexane Extraction (SHHE) of PSO has been introduced and widely used as an effective method for extracting PSO similar to its natural state. SHHE is a new and powerful technique which presents various advantages over conventional methods such as Soxhlet Extraction and cold pressing. Results show that SHHE achieves a higher amount of oil during extraction and reduces the time needed for extraction process. 3 References 1. Cline H. 2010. New premium pomegranate hits world markets. Western Farm Press:n/a. 2. Daswani K. 2007. Pomegranate Infusion Trend Hits Skin Items: Women’s Wear Daily. 193(79):8. 3. Eikani M. H, Golmohammad F., Homami S. S. 2011. Extraction of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) seed oil using superheated hexane. Food and Bioproducts Processing In Press, Corrected Proof. 4. Faria A, Calhau C, 2010. Pomegranate in Human Health, p. 551-563. 5. An Overview. Bioactive Foods in Promoting Health. San Diego: Academic Press. Ed Ronald Ross W & Victor R.P. 5. Guzman Dd. 2005. 5. DeGuzman D. 2005. The quest for exotic cosmetic oils. ICIS Chemical Business Americas 267(19):36. 6. Koba K, Yanagita T. 2011. Potential Health Benefits of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Seed Oil Containing Conjugated Linolenic Acid. Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 919-924. 7. Lansky, E.P., H.M. Paavilainen, A.D. Pawlus, and R.A. Newman. 2008. Punica granatum (pomegranate) and its potential for prevention and treatment of inflammation and cancer. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 109(2):177-206. 8. McFarlin B.K., Strohacker K.A. and Kueht M.L. 2009. Pomegranate seed oil consumption during a period of high-fat feeding reduces weight gain and reduces type 2 diabetes risk in CD-1 mice. British Journal of Nutrition 102(1):54-59. 9. Kýralan MK, Gölükcü M and Tokgöz H. 2009. Oil and Conjugated Linolenic Acid Contents of Seeds from Important Pomegranate Cultivars (Punica granatum L.) Grown in Turkey. JAOCS, Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society 86(10):985. October/November 2011 49
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