Chemical composition and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferation activities of pomegranate (Punica granatum) flowers

The chemical composition, antioxidant (DPPH and ABTS assays), anti-inflammatory (5-LOX), and cytotoxic (MCF-7) activities from flowers of seven pomegranate varieties (Punica granatum) were investigated. The highest phenolics (330.9±11.3 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight (dw)), flavonoids (29.5±0.8 mg quercetin equivalent/g dw), tannins (30.6±0.6 mg catechin equivalent/g dw), and anthocyanins (0.70±0.03 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalent/g dw) content were determined in the Chetoui (CH) variety. It was found that Garsi (GR) (IC 50=4.9±0.2 mg/L by ABTS assay) and Zaghwani (ZG) (IC 50=3.9±0.2 mg/L by ABTS assay) varieties exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. For the anti-inflammatory activity, all varieties were active; the ZH variety was the strongest (2.5±0.1 mg/L). The CH, ES, and RA pomegranate varieties were not active against human breast cancer cells MCF-7, whereas inhibition was more evident with extracts from ZH and GR varieties (IC50=33.00±2.64 and 35.00±4.58 mg/L, respectively). Statistical analysis showed that the variety factor influenced significantly (P<.01) the chemical composition and biological activities of pomegranate flowers. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition.