Abstract:
Four Chinese pomegranate (
Punica granatum
L.) cultivars were analyzed for their
indivi
dual flavonols and flavones (in fruit peel extracts) using High Performance Liquid
Chromatography (HPLC), with changes in flavonols and flavones as occurring during fruit
development.
The results revealed the presence of kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin, l
uteolin,
and apigenin in all the four cultivars. In addition, the
concentrations of flavonols were found
out as always higher than those of the flavones in different cultivars and throughout the
different fruit developmental phases. Kaempferol was the most
prominent flavonol in
Hongbaoshi, Lvbaoshi and Shuijingtian, while myricetin the major and dominant flavonol
in Moshiliu. The pattern of kaempferol was similar to quercetin in each individual cultivar,
but quite differing among the four cultivars. The lev
el of luteolin was higher than that of
apigenin in all the cultivars. During test course, similar change pat
terns for luteolin and
apigenin
were revealed in each individual cultivar. This is the first report regarding the
flavonols and flavones concentrati
on changes in pomegranate peel extracts. The results
indicated that the changes in flavonols and flavones were significantly affected by cultivar
and its developmental stages. Moshiliu proved to be an excellent pomegranate cultivar with
rich flavonol conte
nts. It can be further studied for its potential uses being more fully
exploited
.
