Antimicrobial Activity of Extracts from Pomegranate (Punicagranatum L.) Waste

The importance of natural antioxidants, especially ofplant origin, has greatly increased in recent years It is known thatPomegranate arils have high antioxidant activity due topolyphenolsand have been used for centuries for nutritional andmedicinal purposes.The arils are processed to flavored juice, squash, jelly, jam, etc.After the first squeezing of pomegranate fruits leading to juiceproduction, recently the residual material has been evaluated assource of natural antimicrobial agents effectiveagainsta variety ofmicroorganisms and on the other hand, microbial activity, a primarycause of deterioration of many foods, often is responsible for the lossof quality and safety.The main objective of the present study is been to extractbiomolecules from residual materials of Pomegranates arilssqueezing and to use them in microbiological assays, using in vitromethods, in order to highlight antimicrobial activity against a varietyof microorganisms pathogens such as S. aureus and E. coli. Organicsolvents of increasing polarity are been used to extract bioactivemolecules. The extracts were subjected for antioxidant assay byDPPH method, while spectrophotometric and chromatographicanalysis were performed in order to identified bioactive moleculesthat includes anthocyanins, catechins, tannins, and gallic and ellagicacids.