Polyphenolic Profile and Antimicrobial Potential of Peel Extracts Obtained from Organic Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Variety “Mollar De Elche”

The aim of this work was to determine the polyphenolic profile and the antibacterial properties of extracts from organic pomegranate peel, to evaluate if it could be used as a potential antimicrobial ingredient to elaborated organic food. The antibacterial properties of different organic pomegranate peel extracts (ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol, with an increasing polarity) were tested against: Listeria innocua, Achromobacter denitrificans and Algaligenes faecalis. All extracts showed antimicrobial activity against all bacteria tested except ethyl acetate extract against A. denitrificans. The polyphenolic profile was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Five compounds were identified. Punicagalin was the main component found in acetone and methanol extracts (7,939 µg.g⁻¹ and 5,178 µg.g⁻¹ of lyophilized sample, respectively). Ellagic acid was the main component found in ethyl acetate extract (171 µg.g⁻¹ of lyophilized sample).