as ellagic tannins, ellagic acid, and gallic acid13. Hayrapetyan et al14 found that two pure compounds commonly found in pomegranate-peel extract, namely ellagic acid and gallic acid, did not show considerable inhibition of L. monocytogenes. Ahmad and Beg6 reported that the phytochemical components found in alcoholic extract of pomegranate are alkaloid, flavonoid, glycoside, phenol, and tannin. Li et al15 reported that phenolic compounds in pomegranate juice are punicalagin isomers, ellagic acid derivatives, and anthocyanins. Machado et al16 reported the antibacterial activity of punicalagin against S. aureus (MRSA strains) with the MIC value of 768 μg/ml.
CONCLUSIONS
Besides having high antioxidant activity, pomegranate arils also have antibacterial activity and may be used as medicine for humans. This reduces the cost and the risk of antibiotic consumption. Furthermore, addedvalue from the peels which is the byproduct could provide health benefits to humans and may be employed in food preservation and pharmaceutical purposes.