7. Conclusions
A plethora of literature highlights the ethnopharmacological
and nutraceutical features of PoP and PoPx confirming their potential
to act as health ameliorating biological ingredients. Relatively
fewer reports deal with their possible toxicology, dietary ranges
and consumption patterns. Some studies report the ingestion of
pomegranate and its peel fractions in the form of pills, capsules
and gels as conventional treatment regimens against certain diseases
in countries of the developing world. Utilization of PoP and
PoPx as effective supplements and food additives in defined concentrations
in various organoleptically acceptable food preparations,
would open new avenues for scientific research in the
realm of food science and nutrition. Incorporation of PoP or its fractionated
phytochemicals regardless of their astringency could
practically be exploited for health promoting purposes in various
food products with slight but acceptable organoleptic modifications.
Utilisation of pomegranate peel as a reservoir of valuable
therapeutic agents that may also act as food preservatives, stabilizers,
supplements, probiotics and quality enhancement agents
seems to be a pragmatic approach in the prevention of some
chronic maladies. However, the efficacy of PoP and PoPx, their
nutraceutical role as supplements in food, the stability of their
active ingredients under various food processing conditions and
organoleptic alterations in finished food products, need to be thoroughly
explored to fully exploit the intrinsic value of the waste of
this heavenly fruit.
Acknowledgements
This work is a part of the Ph.D. studies of Tariq Ismail, Lecturer
Department of Food Science and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya
University, Multan-Pakistan. The authors are grateful to higher
education commission of Pakistan for funding various projects to
investigate into various fruits and vegetable wastes and their
potential for food use.