The Punicacae family includes the pomegranate, a fruit that grows on trees or shrubs that can grow to a height of around 16 to 26 feet. Punica granatum is its scientific name. It is also known as the Chinese apple and nameseed apple. In the north, this fruit grows from September to February, whereas in the south, it grows from March to May. The pomegranate fruit's leaves are 2 cm wide and 3–7 cm long, and it contains multiple long-lived branches [1]. Red flowers feature three to seven petals, and there can be anywhere from 200 to 1400 seeds in each flower. Still, you can use seeds in salads, appetisers, soups, and desserts. In parks and gardens, this fruit can be grown as a decorative tree. They can live in arid environments and are resistant to drought. They are considered healthier fruits and are high in fiber, making them ideal winter eats. Pomegranates are well recognized for their ability to lower blood pressure, prevent diabetes, improve heart health, and shield the prostate from cancer. They are also a great source of antioxidants, which help prevent cancer and the production of free radicals. Seeram [2]. Three times as much vitamins, potassium, and antioxidants are found in pomegranate juice and seeds as in green tea. In Pakistani cuisine, seeds are usually used as a spice called Anar dana. Dried seeds are utilized to make curries. Although supplements are sold in dry form, one can prevent high blood pressure and high cholesterol by consuming concentrated juice that contains polyphenolic antioxidants Heftmann.

Edible fruit contains 20% seed and 80% juice. The levels of fructose and glucose in juice are equal. The polyphenol component is composed of anthocyanins, ellagic acid, tannins, and catechins. Its seeds include a lot of pectin, fiber, and carbs, all of which can help avoid heart disease. Pomegranate protects against atherosclerosis and reduces LDL cholesterol levels in the body [3-6].

Synonyms

Hindi: Anar,

Sanskrit: Dadimah,

English: Pomegranate,

Marathi: Dalimba,

Gujarati: Dalimba,

Bengali: Dadim,

Tamil: Madalai,

Telegu: Danimma,

Malayalam: Talimatatalum,

Pharsi: Anar tursa,

Arabi: Roman Hamiz,

German: Granatapfels.

Botanical Classification

Botanical name: Punica granatum

Kingdom: Plantae (Angiosperms)

Order: Myrtales

Family: Lythraceae

Genus: Punica Species: P. granatum

Cultivation

The main fruit produced in Pakistan is the pomegranate. Punjab and KPK contribute to its production in isolated locations, although Balochistan is the main producer. On nine thousand hectares, forty thousand tons are produced. This fruit thrives on tropical and subtropical climates and its propagation can be done sexually as well as asexually. Pakistan boasts excellent pomegranate growing circumstances, however the effective production of AR Awan was hindered by farmers' ignorance, poor management of trees, and a lack of fundamental contemporary practices.

Varieties

Various varieties are present and are famous for their taste. Some famous are:

Bedana:Its pale or brown seeds have a delicate texture. Fruit that ranges in size from medium to large makes up the pink, sweet pulp.

Kandhar:It has pulp that is blood red in hue and firm seeds. This fruit tastes sour and is enormous in size.

Alandi:It has extremely hard seeds. It is a medium-sized fruit with a pink fleshy color and a subacid pulp.

Dholki: This fruit has significant commercial value. Its pulp is white and delicious, with firm seeds. Its base is colored with dark purple patterns. It is known as evergreen plant.

Kabul:This huge pomegranate type has a dark yellow peel and a pulp with a bitter flavor.

Muscat Red:contain firm seeds and a luscious pulp. Typically, this fruit has a thick covering and is tiny in size.

Paper shell:Its seeds are frequently soft, and its pulp is extremely sweet and luscious with a meaty covering. It has a primarily spherical shape.

Poona: This has a grey to green colored rind that is frequently speckled. This fruit is huge and has a color combination of orange and red.

Spanish Ruby: It consists of a blend of fragrant, rosy pulp and frequently delicate, vibrantly colored seeds. The fruit ranges in size from medium to giant.

Vellodu:It is of average quality with sweet pulp and large size seeds Holland.

Global production

The United States, Iran, India, Pakistan, and China are the world's leading producers of this fruit, based on current global conditions. Global production is estimated to reach 1.5 million tons per year. India has being placed #1 in the output of 1.140 million tones on 0.125 million hectares. The largest exporter, at 60,000 tons, is Iran. India is a major supplier of pomegranates to Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In past centuries, this fruit was imported to India from West Pakistan. This fruit is used as an ornamental tree in several nations, including Mexico, France, Italy, Egypt, and Greece. Every component of the pomegranate—its peel, seeds, roots, and leaves—has economic value to the global community [7–10].

Characteristics of Punica granatum

Punica granatum bark

1. granatum bark can grow up to 5 meters tall and is distinguished by its strong, woody brown appearance that appears twisted. The bark of P. granatum has long been used to cure a variety of conditions, including ulcers, sore throats, inflammation, bleeding from the nose, diarrhea, and hoarseness [11]. Additionally, the bark portion is applied to treat parasitic illnesses like malaria [12]. Among P. granatum's other relevant applications, the bark extracts' strong thermal and acidic characteristics prevent iron corrosion [13]. In addition, the bark has high concentrations of terpenoids, proanthocyanidins, and anthocyanins [14–16]. The bark component acts as a natural green corrosion inhibitor due to the presence of these compounds [13].

Punica granatum flowers

Pomegranate trees attract a variety of birds to their blooms throughout the summer [17]. The bright pink, piled oval petals of pomegranate blooms are one of their distinguishing features [18]. Pomegranate flowers have long been used to treat diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular conditions [15]. The antibacterial characteristics of pomegranate blossoms were discovered, and it was discovered that these flowers could effectively treat common bacteria that cause intestinal illnesses, such Kentucky and Salmonella entteriditis [19]. Furthermore, a variety of bioactive substances, including flavonoids, terpenoids, terpenes, and organic oils, are abundant in flowers [12, 15, 19]. Garlic acid, punicatannin C, and ellagic acids are the major tannins found in flowers [16].

Punica granatum leaves

The ovate, green, glossy leaves of P. granatum can reach a maximum length of 3 cm. [18] states that the plant's leaves are perennial. Many traditional use of pomegranate leaves has been documented and researched over time. The leaves are used, among other things, to treat and manage diabetic nephropathy [20], cholesterol, and weight loss [15, 16]. The plant's leaves have cytotoxic, anti-cholinesterase, and anti-inflammatory qualities [21]. The study also reported antimicrobial and antibacterial properties [22]. Additionally, [20,23] determined the anti-diabetic and [16] found the anti-cancerous characteristics. A different study found that the leaf extract has anti-lice and anti-dandruff characteristics, leading to the conclusion that it might be utilized to promote hair growth [24]. Because of the diversity

Punica granatum seeds

The seeds of the P. granatum plant are the portion that has been studied and recorded the most. Pomegranate seeds are found in hundreds and are encased within the fruit, which is covered in red-appearing arils [18]. Pomegranate seeds are frequently used for treating urinary tract issues [16] and preventing miscarriages [25]. Pomegranate seeds have been shown to have additional medicinal qualities, such as antibacterial [19, 26], anti-cancerous, and antioxidant [27]. Numerous phytochemical components, such as anthocyanins, tannins, fatty acids, flavonoids, ligands, and sterols like certain organic volatile oils, are abundant in pomegranate seeds [12,28,29,25, 30].

Punica granatum peels

When pomegranate fruit peels are ripe, their pericarp, a hard shield, retains its orange and greenish hue. The peel envelops the arils, which are separated within the peel by a thin membrane. Forty-three percent of the fruit is made up of pomegranate peels [29]. The peel extracts are traditionally used to cure ulcers, and diarrhea [25], suppress ribonucleic acid (RNA) replication [14], and are utilized as ruminant feeds [31]. Pomegranate peels have been found to have a variety of medicinal qualities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-cancer actions [27, 32, 16]. It was shown that apple peels had anti-breast cancer antioxidant properties [25]. Pomegranate peels have also been shown to contain over 48 chemical components, including xanthonoids, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, phenolics, proanthocyanidins, sterols, and terpenes [12,18,15,16,33,34].

Punica granatum juice extracts

Pomegranate juice is one of the highly recommended beverages with vitamin C, the juice is produced from the fruit’s sweet red arils pulps and peels. Pomegranate juice is thought to contain phenolic compounds [12]. Pomegranate juice preparations were used to separate polyphenolic substances as punicalagin and punicalin [18, 35]. Furthermore, the juice has been found as a source of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, zinc, and copper [14].

Phytochemicals in pomegranate

Pomegranates are a significant source of advantageous substances that are essential for preserving homeostasis and overall health, as has been extensively shown in the literature [36,37,38, 39]. Figure 2 provides a description of the pomegranate's natural components. Squeezing the arils yields a juice that contains lignans, fatty acids, alkaloids, triterpenoids, phytosterols, hydrolysable tannins, flavonoids, and various organic acids like gallic and ellagic acid (40, 41). Hydrolyzable tannins, flavonoids, ellagitan-nins, and punicalagins are present in the pericarp. The pericarp has been shown to contain a number of minerals, including potassium and phosphorus, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and nitrogen [42, 43].

In addition,the seeds comprise polyphenols, isoflavones and a range of organic acids, including ascorbic, citric and malic acid. Additionally, they have significant levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (linolenic and linoleic acid) and lipids (punicic, oleic, stearic, and palmitic acid) [44, 45]. In conclusion, pomegranate leaves are abundant in flavone glycosides such luteolin and apigenin, as well as tannins like punicalin and punicafolin.Minerals have also been found in the leaves, just like in the pericarp [46, 47]. It is challenging to determine the precise phytochemical profile of the various pomegranate sections, though, as this can depend on a number of factors, including the cultivar, climate, cultivation techniques, transformation, and preservation of the processed products [48–51].

Pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.) is primarily grown in Mexico due to its climate adaptability. The pomegranate has been studied for applications of biological activities since numerous scientific studies have reported the presence of various bioactive compounds, such as ellagitannins like punicalagin, punicalin, punicic acid, and ellagic acid, which have been evaluated by in vitro and in vivo assays to counteract certain diseases like cancer, obesity, diabetes, some viruses like influenza, bacterial infections, and inflammation. Further investigation into the action mechanisms and metabolism in vivo trials in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries is necessary to evaluate their potential and unfavorable effects as well as to establish concentrations for the use of the currently available bioactive chemicals.