The Mollar Elche variety of pomegranate has 10 times more antioxidant capacity in its skin than in its edible interior

• The project "Granatum Europa", in collaboration with Miguel Hernández University, promotes the consumption of the pomegranate and derived products which triple the antioxidant power of green tea or red wine.
• For the first time, products made from Mollar Elche pomegranates cultivated in Spain will be made available to Spanish consumers.
• The pomegranate is a great source of vitamin C and E and potassium, as well as containing the polyphenols responsible for its high level of antioxidant activity.
• At 40,000 tonnes a year, 95% of the production of pomegranates in the European Union is concentrated in Alicante.
 

Madrid SPAIN, 23nd of June 2010. The study, carried out by the Food Quality and Safety Group of Miguel Hernández University, Elche (UMH), in collaboration with the laboratories Antioxidantes Naturales del Mediterráneo in Murcia, a member of the "Granatum Europa" project, has shown that the pomegranate's greatest antioxidant capacity is in its skin and not in its edible centre as believed up to now.

The pomegranate is a great source of vitamin C and E and minerals like potassium, as well as containing the polyphenols responsible for its high level of antioxidant activity, the main component of which are punicalagins. The antioxidant power of the pomegranate is almost three times greater than that of green tea or red wine.
"Granatum Plus" capsules, made exclusively from Mollar Elche pomegranates grown in Spain, contain around 30% punicalagins with 50% polyphenols and around 80% pomegranate extract.

According to Professor Ángel Carbonell of UMH who has led this research "Taking one "Granatum Plus" capsule would equate to drinking 100 ml of juice squeezed from fruit of this variety. This research, along with other research carried out in recent years by prestigious universities around the world, has come to show that the antioxidant capacity of the pomegranate's skin is 10 times higher than that of its edible interior."

The project Granatum Europa, formed by Spanish and European food technology companies and Miguel Hernández University, combines both research and development.

Miguel Hernández University (Food Technology Department, Food Quality and Safety Group) directed by Professor Ángel Carbonell and other prestigious scientists from Spanish and European universities. All of the prime materials used come from farming cooperatives in the Alicante province which, with a volume of 40,000 tonnes a year, make up 95% of the pomegranates cultivated in the European Union.

According to Dr. Ruiz de la Roja, urologist and director of the Madrid Urological Institute, "the antioxidant polyphenols contained in the pomegranate's skin and fruit, such as ellagic acid, have not only proven to interfere with the development of prostate cancer, but it has also been shown that their effect goes beyond that, increasing the production of nitric oxide in the blood vessels, improving the circulation of the blood on all levels, meaning that heart and sexual functions are improved."

The pomegranate, which originates from the Middle East, is produced in many other countries, particularly Mediterranean countries, Spain being the top producer of pomegranates in Europe, and their production is almost exclusive to the Valencia region, especially Elche and the surrounding area.

For Eduardo Vidal, project manager, "this research implies significant progress as the extract taken from the skin of the Granatum Plus pomegranate is soluble and will serve to enrich the products that we are working on such as juices, nectars, jams, syrups and capsules, all from pomegranates cultivated in Spain."

Although pomegranates and derived products are widely consumed and accepted by a proportion of European consumers, 99% of the products available in our country are made from pomegranates originating from outside of the borders of the European Union. The Granatum Plus product line will be the first to go on the market which is made from pomegranates cultivated in Spain.

Professor of Medicine and Public Health of the Centre for Human Nutrition of the University of California, David Heber, in the prologue to the book "Pomegranates: Ancient Roots to Modern Medicine" assures that "The biochemistry of the pomegranate is fascinating, and the classes of components that it contains are highly varied. The reddish purple colour of the anthocyanins gives the skin its intense colour. Anthocyanins are also found in the arils (the term for the scientific part of widely consumed plants, including their flesh and seeds), together with remains of a family of astringent compounds known as hydrolysable tannins. The pomegranate juice, which is made from the fruit as a whole, is a rich source of polyphenol antioxydants and an ellagitannin known as punicalagin."

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