Green Spring Technology Provides High-Purity, Residue-Free Pomegranate Peel Extract Ingredient

Green Spring Technology is dedicated to providing high-quality natural ingredients for the food, health supplement, and cosmetics industries. We are proud to introduce our high-purity pomegranate peel extract, free from solvent residues, empowering product innovation and upgrades through advanced processing techniques.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), a plant with both medicinal and edible properties, has a peel accounting for approximately 40% of the fruit's fresh weight. This component is often underutilized as a byproduct of juice and wine processing. Research indicates pomegranate peel is rich in polyphenolic active compounds—including punicalagin, gallic acid, and quercetin—exhibiting exceptional antioxidant and antibacterial properties with broad application prospects in natural health ingredients.

Traditional extraction methods often face challenges such as low efficiency, susceptibility to degradation of active components, and residual organic solvents. Leveraging innovative extraction and purification technologies, Green Spring Technology has successfully achieved efficient and gentle extraction of pomegranate peel extract ingredient. This ensures high biological activity and food safety, providing customers with stable and reliable clean-label ingredient options.

1 Pomegranate Peel Extract Extraction Methods

1.1 Solvent Extraction Method

As a traditional approach for extracting pomegranate peel, solvent extraction relies on the differing solubility of components in various solvents. Commonly used solvents include water, ethanol, and methanol. Numerous studies have optimized key parameters such as solvent type, concentration, temperature, and time to enhance polyphenol yield and extraction efficiency.

Research indicates ethanol is a widely used and safe extraction solvent. Under optimized conditions (e.g., ethanol concentration 50%-60%, temperature 60-70°C, liquid-to-solid ratio (1:20)-(1:25), extraction time 1.5-2 hours), pomegranate polyphenol yield can reach approximately 16% to 23%. Compared to solvents like water, methanol, and ethyl acetate, ethanol strikes a favorable balance between extraction efficiency and safety.

Other studies employing water as the solvent achieved total phenolic extraction yields of 192.0 mg/g dry weight under high-temperature (100°C) and short-duration (1 minute) conditions, comparable to organic solvent extraction, while offering greater environmental and economic advantages. Additionally, composite solvent systems (e.g., ethanol-water-citric acid, pH=2) have been applied to enhance polyphenol extraction, achieving yields of 324.9 mg/g dry weight under optimized conditions.

Currently, solvent extraction is widely adopted due to its simplicity and low cost, particularly using ethanol and water as primary solvents, balancing food safety and environmental friendliness. However, this method still suffers from time-consuming processes and limited efficiency, leaving room for future process improvements.

1. 2   Enzymatic Extraction Method

Enzymatic extraction, as an efficient and gentle bio-extraction technology, has seen increasing application in plant extract production in recent years. This method utilizes specific enzyme preparations such as cellulase and pectinase to effectively degrade the cell wall structure of pomegranate peel, promoting the release of polyphenolic compounds and significantly enhancing extraction efficiency.

Research indicates that employing a composite enzyme formulation (e.g., cellulase to pectinase mass ratio of 2:1) and optimizing enzymatic hydrolysis parameters can achieve more favorable polyphenol yields. Under conditions of 0.25 mg/mL enzyme concentration, 50°C temperature, and pH 6.0, a 150-minute enzymatic hydrolysis yields a pomegranate peel polyphenol recovery rate of 23.87%. Among various factors, hydrolysis duration and enzyme concentration exert the most significant influence on extraction efficacy.

Enzymatic extraction offers advantages such as mild conditions, environmental friendliness, and high product yields, making it widely adopted for extracting high-value components in food and pharmaceutical applications. Currently, this process faces challenges related to extended processing times. Future improvements in economic viability can be pursued through enzyme formulation combinations and process optimization.

1.3 Microwave-Assisted Extraction

As an efficient, energy-saving modern extraction technique, microwave-assisted extraction has been extensively applied in the industrial production of pomegranate peel extracts. This technology utilizes microwave energy to instantly penetrate materials, rapidly heating and rupturing cells to significantly enhance polyphenol dissolution rates and extraction efficiency.

Research indicates that optimizing key parameters such as ethanol concentration, microwave power, solid-liquid ratio, and processing time can substantially increase the yield of pomegranate peel extracts. For instance, under conditions of 40%-50% ethanol solvent, 240-385W microwave power, a 1:25 to 1:35 solid-to-liquid ratio, and an extraction time of 60-120 seconds, polyphenol yields reached 21%-26%, with the extraction time substantially reduced compared to traditional methods.

Furthermore, the innovative dual-phase microwave integrated process further enhances extract purity, achieving polyphenol content exceeding 75%, demonstrating promising industrial application prospects.

Although this method requires specialized equipment for precise temperature control, its advantages of high efficiency, energy savings, and operational simplicity position it as a key technological direction for pomegranate peel extract production, providing robust support for the high-value development of natural products.

1.4 Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Method

As an efficient, eco-friendly modern extraction technique, ultrasound-assisted extraction has been successfully applied in the large-scale production of pomegranate peel extracts. This technology leverages the cavitation effect generated by ultrasonic waves to rapidly disrupt plant cell structures, promoting the dissolution and release of polyphenolic compounds. It offers significant advantages including short extraction times, high efficiency, and low energy consumption.

Research indicates that optimizing key parameters—such as ethanol concentration, ultrasonic duration, power, and solid-to-liquid ratio—can substantially enhance pomegranate peel extract yield. For instance, under conditions of 40%-70% ethanol concentration, 30-60°C temperature, 20-50 minutes ultrasonication time, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:15 to 1:50, polyphenol extraction rates reached 16%-28%. Some processes achieved over 20% higher extraction yields compared to traditional methods while reducing extraction time by approximately 90%.

The innovative Pulsed Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction (PUAE) technology not only ensures high extraction rates but also effectively preserves the antioxidant activity of pomegranate polyphenols while significantly reducing energy consumption, demonstrating promising application prospects. New methods such as combining chelating agents with ultrasonication further enhance extraction efficiency and product purity.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction has become a key technological pathway for pomegranate peel polyphenol extraction, providing robust support for its widespread application in food, health supplements, and other sectors.

1.5 Supercritical Fluid Extraction

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), particularly supercritical CO₂ extraction, is an advanced separation technology widely applied for extracting heat-sensitive and high-boiling-point active components. This technique utilizes supercritical fluids—substances in a state between gas and liquid—as solvents, offering high efficiency, environmental friendliness, and minimal organic residue.

In pomegranate peel extract processing, supercritical CO₂ extraction demonstrates significant advantages. Studies indicate that this method achieves gallic acid (a key polyphenol) yields of up to 0.498%, outperforming ultrasonic, microwave, and traditional methanol maceration techniques. To enhance extraction efficiency for polar polyphenols, co-solvents like methanol are often incorporated, further broadening their application scope.

Despite its outstanding performance in laboratory studies, supercritical CO₂ extraction faces economic challenges in large-scale production due to high equipment costs. Emerging technologies like subcritical water extraction are gradually emerging as promising alternatives.

Supercritical fluid extraction offers a significant direction for the green extraction of high-value polyphenols from pomegranate peel, particularly suited for producing high-purity, high-value-added natural products.

1.6   Subcritical Water Extraction

Subcritical water extraction is an innovative green extraction technology. By heating water to temperatures between 100°C and 374°C under specific pressures while maintaining its liquid state, it leverages the adjustable physicochemical properties of water with temperature and pressure to achieve continuous and selective extraction of components ranging from strongly polar to weakly polar. Utilizing water as the extraction solvent, this technology offers significant advantages in safety, environmental friendliness, and low cost.

Research indicates subcritical water extraction excels in extracting polyphenols from pomegranate byproducts. Under conditions of 220°C temperature, a 1:40 solid-to-liquid ratio, and a 30-minute extraction time, polyphenol yields reach approximately 485 mg/100g dry weight. Temperature has been confirmed as the most significant factor influencing extraction efficiency.

Compared to traditional methods, subcritical water extraction combines short processing times, simplified procedures, high yields, and environmental friendliness. It is hailed as a promising, transformative extraction technology, particularly suited for the green, large-scale extraction of high-value components from fruit and vegetable processing byproducts.

1.7  Ultra-High Pressure Extraction

Ultra-High Pressure Extraction (UPE), an emerging non-thermal physical extraction technique, applies ultra-high static pressures of 100–1000 MPa to materials at ambient temperatures. This instantaneous pressure differential alters cellular structures, facilitating the release of internal constituents. This method effectively prevents the degradation of heat-sensitive components while offering significant advantages including short extraction times, minimal impurities, high yields, and no solvent contamination.

Research indicates that the key influencing factors for ultra-high pressure extraction of pomegranate peel extracts are, in order of importance: solid-to-liquid ratio, pressure, ethanol concentration, and pressure holding time. Under optimized process conditions (pressure ~583 MPa, pressure holding time 2.3 min, solid-to-liquid ratio 1:41, ethanol concentration 53%), polyphenol yield exceeds 26%, demonstrating outstanding extraction efficiency.

Compared to traditional methanol extraction, high-pressure water extraction (~10 MPa) at 40°C yields comparable polyphenol extraction levels (approximately 258 mg/g dry weight) while avoiding toxic solvent residues. It also overcomes the limitations of low-temperature water extraction (inefficient) and high-temperature water extraction (destructive to active components).

Ultra-high/high-pressure extraction technology provides a reliable pathway for large-scale, green extraction of pomegranate peel extracts, particularly suited for the efficient preparation of high-value-added natural products, offering significant industrial application prospects.

2  Green Spring Technology: Empowering Natural, Compliant Pomegranate Peel Extract Raw Materials with Advanced Processes

Green Spring Technology leverages advanced integrated ultra-high pressure extraction and purification technology to overcome bottlenecks in efficiency, purity, and safety inherent in traditional extraction processes. We provide customers with high-purity pomegranate peel extract raw materials free of solvent residues. Our products perfectly align with the modern food and health supplement industry's demand for natural, clean-label ingredients, effectively helping customers enhance product quality, extend shelf life, and strengthen market competitiveness.

Through green, low-carbon standardized production processes, Green Spring Technology not only preserves the high bioactivity of pomegranate peel polyphenols but also ensures no harmful solvents are added throughout the entire journey from raw material to finished product. This guarantees your products are safe, compliant, and high-value. We are committed to promoting the efficient and comprehensive utilization of pomegranate resources, empowering our clients to create more innovative and sustainable health products.

Visit Green Spring Technology's official website or contact our professional team at helen@greenspringbio.com or WhatsApp: +86 13649243917 to obtain samples and industry application solutions. Together, let's pioneer the future market for natural ingredients!

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