Abstract

Objective: The use of traditional medicines and medicinal plants in most developing countries as a normative basis for the maintenance of good health has been widely observed. The present study was undertaken first, to determine the chemical composition, the total phenolic and total flavonoids content of the Lebanese Punica granatum peels; second to quantify some of its bioactive contents and finally to evaluate its antioxidant capacity. Methods: Chemical composition was determined using a standard phytochemical screening. The antioxidant capacity has been evaluated using the DPPH in vitro test. Total phenolic and total flavonoids contents have been determined using the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent and the aluminum chloride method respectively. Results: The obtained results of the phytochemical screening indicated the presence of various secondary metabolites such phenols, flavonoids among others. Also, methanol extract from peels of P. granatum has the highest phenolic content (185.43 mg/ml) than that of ethanol (80.01 mg/ml) and water (14.91 mg/ml) extracts. Also, these peels were rich in flavonoids (3.86 mg/ml). On the other hand, ethanol extract has exerted a higher antioxidant capacity reaching 95 % at the concentration 50 μg/ml than that of methanol extract (45 %) at the same concentration. Conclusion: Punica granatum’s peels are considered as good source of different antioxidant and bioactive compounds. Keywords: Punica granatum peels, antioxidant capacity, phytochemical screening

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