INTRODUCTION
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the oldest known edible fruits and has been associated with several ancient cultures of the world. Its commercial cultivation started in many countries, especially in tropical and subtro- pical dry regions of the northern hemisphere. Its commercial potential and economic impact is enormous considering the different ways in which the fruit may be utilized. The fresh fruit and juice market has grown steadily worldwide and has especially boomed in the US in recent years due to its increased consumer awareness of the potential health bene- fits (Seeram et al. 2006). Other commercial pomegranate products include jams, jellies, isolated arils and wines. However, pomegranate juice is also popularly consumed. In the commercial juicing industry, a large amount of bioac- tive polyphenols contained in the fruit peel and membrane, consisting predominantly of punicalagin and its isomers, are extracted into fruit juice along with several other phytoche- mcials found in other parts of the fruit, especially in its arils and seeds. Punicalagin has been shown to be the major contributor to the potent antioxidant activities of fruit juice. It is noteworthy that