Identification and quantification of phenolic compounds in pomegranate juices from eight Macedonian cultivars

Punica granatum L. is one of the species enjoying growing interest due to its complex and unique chemical composition that encompasses the presence of anthocyanins, ellagic acid and ellagitannins, gallic acid and gallotannins, proanthocyanidins, flavanols and lignans. This combination is deemed responsible for a wide range of health-promoting biological activities. This study was focused on the analysis of flavonoids, anthocyanins and phenolic acids in eight pomegranate varieties (Punica granatum) from Macedonia, in two consecutive years. Fruits from each cultivar were washed and manually peeled, and the juice was filtered. NaF (8.5 mg) was added to 100 ml juice as a stabilizer. The samples were centrifuged for 15 min at 3000 rpm and analyzed using an HPLC/DAD/MSn method that was optimized for determination of their polyphenolic fingerprints. The dominant anthocyanin in all pomegranate varieties was cyanidin-3-glucoside followed by cyanidin and delphinidin 3,5-diglucoside. From the results, it can be concluded that the content of anthocyanins was higher in 2016 compared to 2017. But in contrast, the total content of non-colored polyphenols was around 10 times lower in 2016 compared to the amount found in the same samples in 2017.