| Pomegranate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fruit | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Subclass: | Rosidae |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Lythraceae |
| Genus: | Punica |
| Species: | P. granatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Punica granatum L. | |
| Synonyms | |
| Linnaeus, 1758 | |
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February.[3] In the Southern Hemisphere, it is in season from March to May.
The pomegranate is a very ancient fruit, mentioned in the Homeric Hymns and the Book of Exodus.[4] Yet, it has still to reach mainstream prominence in the commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere.
Contents |
Cultivars
More than 500 cultivars of pomegranate have been named, but such fruits evidently have considerable synonymy in which the same genotype is named differently across regions of the world.[5]Several characteristics between pomegranate genotypes vary for identification, consumer preference, preferred use, and marketing, the most important of which are fruit size, exocarp color (ranging from yellow to purple, with pink and red most common), aril color (ranging from white to red), hardness of seed, maturity, juice content and its acidity, sweetness, and astringency.[5]
Foliage and fruit
Pomegranates are drought-tolerant, and can be grown in dry areas with either a Mediterranean winter rainfall climate or in summer rainfall climates. In wetter areas, they are prone to root decay from fungal diseases.[8] They are tolerant of moderate frost, down to about −10°C (14°F).[citation needed]
Punica granatum nana is a dwarf variety of P. granatum popularly used as bonsai trees and as a patio plant. It could well be a wild form with a distinct origin. The only other species in the genus Punica is the Socotran pomegranate (Punica protopunica), which is endemic to the island of Socotra. It differs in having pink (not red) flowers and smaller, less sweet fruit.
Etymology
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 346 kJ (83 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 18.7 g |
| Sugars | 13.7 g |
| Dietary fiber | 4.0 g |
| Fat | 1.2 g |
| Protein | 1.7 g |
| Thiamine (Vit. B1) | 0.07 mg (5%) |
| Riboflavin (Vit. B2) | 0.05 mg (3%) |
| Niacin (Vit. B3) | 0.29 mg (2%) |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 0.38 mg (8%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.08 mg (6%) |
| Folate (Vit. B9) | 38 μg (10%) |
| Vitamin C | 10 mg (17%) |
| Calcium | 10 mg (1%) |
| Iron | 0.30 mg (2%) |
| Magnesium | 12 mg (3%) |
| Phosphorus | 36 mg (5%) |
| Potassium | 236 mg (5%) |
| Zinc | 0.35 mg (3%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database | |
Perhaps stemming from the French word for the fruit, pomme-grenade, the pomegranate was known in early English as "apple of Grenada" — a term which today survives only in heraldic blazons. This is a folk etymology, confusing Latin granatus with the name of the Spanish city of Granada, which derives from Arabic.
The genus name Punica refers to the Phoenicians, who were active in broadening its cultivation, partly for religious reasons.
In classical Latin, where malum was broadly applied to many apple-like fruits, the pomegranate's name was malum punicum or malum granatum, the latter giving rise to the Italian name melograno, or less commonly melagrana.
Origin, cultivation, and uses
Carbonized exocarp of the fruit has been identified in Early Bronze Age levels of Jericho in Israel, as well as Late Bronze Age levels of Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus and Tiryns[citation needed]. A large, dry pomegranate was found in the tomb of Djehuty, the butler of Queen Hatshepsut in Egypt; Mesopotamian cuneiform records mention pomegranates from the mid-Third millennium BC onwards.[12]
It is also extensively grown in South China and in Southeast Asia, whether originally spread along the route of the Silk Road or brought by sea traders.
The ancient city of Granada in Spain was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period. Spanish colonists later introduced the fruit to the Caribbean and Latin America, but in the English colonies it was less at home: "Don't use the pomegranate inhospitably, a stranger that has come so far to pay his respects to thee," the English Quaker Peter Collinson wrote to the botanizing John Bartram in Philadelphia, 1762. "Plant it against the side of thy house, nail it close to the wall. In this manner it thrives wonderfully with us, and flowers beautifully, and bears fruit this hot year. I have twenty-four on one tree... Doctor Fothergill says, of all trees this is most salutiferous to mankind."[13] The pomegranate had been introduced as an exotic to England the previous century, by John Tradescant the elder, but the disappointment that it did not set fruit there led to its repeated introduction to the American colonies, even New England. It succeeded in the South: Bartram received a barrel of pomegranates and oranges from a correspondent in Charleston, South Carolina, 1764. Thomas Jefferson planted pomegranates at Monticello in 1771: he had them from George Wythe of Williamsburg.[14]
Insect pests of the pomegranate include the pomegranate butterfly Virachola isocrates and the leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus zonatus.
Culinary use
The entire seed is consumed raw, though the watery, tasty aril is the desired part. The taste differs depending on the subspecies of pomegranate and its ripeness. The pomegranate juice can be very sweet or sour, but most fruits are moderate in taste, with sour notes from the acidic tannins contained in the aril juice. Pomegranate juice has long been a popular drink in Persian and Indian cuisine, and began to be widely distributed in the United States and Canada in 2002.[15]
Grenadine syrup is thickened and sweetened pomegranate juice used in cocktail mixing. Before tomatoes (a new-world fruit) arrived in the Middle East, grenadine was widely used in many Iranian foods, and is still found in traditional recipes such as fesenjan, a thick sauce made from pomegranate juice and ground walnuts, usually spooned over duck or other poultry and rice, and in ash-e anar (pomegranate soup).[16][17]
Wild pomegranate seeds are used as a spice known as anardana (from Persian: anar+dana, pomegranate+seed), most notably in Indian and Pakistani cuisine, but also as a substitute for pomegranate syrup in Persian cuisine. Dried whole arils can often be obtained in ethnic Indian subcontinent markets. These seeds are separated from the flesh, dried for 10–15 days and used as an acidic agent for chutney and curry preparation. Ground anardana is also used, which results in a deeper flavoring in dishes and prevents the seeds from getting stuck in teeth. Seeds of the wild pomegranate variety known as daru from the Himalayas are regarded as quality sources for this spice.
Dried pomegranate arils, found in some natural specialty food markets, still contain the seed and residual aril water, maintaining a natural sweet and tart flavor. Dried arils can be used in several culinary applications, such as trail mix, granola bars, or as a topping for salad, yogurt, or ice cream. Chocolate covered arils, also available in gourmet food stores like Trader Joes, may be added to desserts and baked items.
In Greece, pomegranate (Greek: ρόδι, rodi) is used in many recipes, including kollivozoumi, a creamy broth made from boiled wheat, pomegranates and raisins, legume salad with wheat and pomegranate, traditional Middle Eastern lamb kebabs with pomegranate glaze, pomegranate eggplant relish, and avocado-pomegranate dip. Pomegranate is also made into a liqueur and popular fruit confectionery used as ice cream topping or mixed with yogurt or spread as jam on toast. In Cyprus as well as in Greece and among the Greek Orthodox Diaspora, ρόδι is used to make kolliva, a mixture of wheat, pomegranate seeds, sugar, almonds and other seeds served at memorial services.
Prominence in Ayurvedic medicine
The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites.[22] The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and classified as a bitter-astringent (pitta or fire) component under the Ayurvedic system, and considered a healthful counterbalance to a diet high in sweet-fatty (kapha or earth) components.[23] The astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts and treating hemorrhoids.[24] Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as eyedrops as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.[25]
Ayurveda differentiates between pomegranate varieties and employs them for different remedies.[26]
Nutrients and phytochemicals
Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and polyphenols, such as tannins and flavonoids.[27][28]
Pomegranates are listed as high-fiber in some charts of nutritional value. That fiber, however, is entirely contained in the edible seeds which also supply unsaturated oils. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber, oils and micronutrients.
The most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice are the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid binds with a carbohydrate. Punicalagins are tannins with free-radical scavenging properties in laboratory experiments[29] and with potential human effects.[30] Punicalagins are absorbed into the human body and may have dietary value as antioxidants, but conclusive proof of efficacy in humans has not yet been shown.[31][32] During intestinal metabolism by bacteria, ellagitannins and punicalagins are converted to urolithins which have unknown biological activity in vivo.[33][34]
Other phytochemicals include polyphenolic catechins, gallocatechins, and anthocyanins, such as prodelphinidins, delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin.[35] The ORAC (antioxidant capacity) of pomegranate juice was measured at 2,860 units per 100 grams.[36]
Many food and dietary supplement makers use pomegranate phenolic extracts as ingredients in their products instead of the juice. One of these extracts is ellagic acid, which may become bioavailable only after parent molecule punicalagins are metabolized. However, ingested ellagic acid from pomegranate juice does not accumulate in the blood in significant quantities and is rapidly excreted.[37] Accordingly, ellagic acid from pomegranate juice does not appear to be biologically important in vivo.
Potential health benefits
In preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies, juice of the pomegranate was effective in reducing heart disease risk factors, including LDL oxidation, macrophage oxidative status, and foam cell formation,[38][39][40] all of which are steps in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.In a limited study of hypertensive patients, consumption of pomegranate juice for two weeks was shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by inhibiting serum angiotensin-converting enzyme.[41] Juice consumption may also inhibit viral infections[42] while pomegranate extracts have antibacterial effects against dental plaque.[43][44]
While one study showed that, in a test tube, extracts of the fruit can inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cells[45], no studies have shown that eating pomegranates has any effect on the development of breast cancer in humans.
Despite research to date being preliminary to possible approval of a health claim on product labels, manufacturers and marketers of pomegranate juice have liberally used evolving research results for product promotion, especially for putative antioxidant health benefits. In February 2010, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to one such manufacturer, POM Wonderful, for using published literature to make illegal claims of unproven antioxidant and anti-disease benefits.[46][47][48]
Clinical trial rationale and activity
Metabolites of pomegranate juice ellagitannins localize specifically in the prostate gland, colon, and intestinal tissues of mice,[49] leading to clinical studies of pomegranate juice or fruit extracts for efficacy against several diseases.In 2010, 23 clinical trials were registered with the National Institutes of Health to examine effects of pomegranate extracts or juice consumption on diseases shown below[50]
- prostate cancer
- prostatic hyperplasia
- diabetes
- lymphoma
- rhinovirus infection (completed, July 2008)
- common cold (completed, June, 2007)
- oxidative stress in diabetic hemodialysis
- atherosclerosis
- coronary artery disease
- infant brain injury
- hemodialysis for kidney disease
Symbolism
Ancient Greece
The wild pomegranate did not occur in the Aegean area in Neolithic times. It originated in eastern Iran and came to the Aegean world along the same cultural pathways that brought the goddess whom the Anatolians worshipped as Cybele and the Mesopotamians as Ishtar.The myth of Persephone, the chthonic goddess of the Underworld, also prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, could not allow the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend six months in the Underworld every year. During these six months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth. This became an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons. Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting Persephona depicts Persephone holding the fatal fruit. It should be noted that the number of seeds that Persephone ate varies, depending on which version of the story is told. The number of seeds she is said to have eaten ranges from three to seven, which accounts for just one barren season if it is just three or four seeds, or two barren seasons (half the year) if she ate six or seven seeds.
The pomegranate also evoked the presence of the Aegean Triple Goddess who evolved into the Olympian Hera, who is sometimes represented offering the pomegranate, as in the Polykleitos' cult image of the Argive Heraion (see below). According to Carl A. P. Ruck and Danny Staples, the chambered pomegranate is also a surrogate for the poppy's narcotic capsule, with its comparable shape and chambered interior.[51] On a Mycenaean seal illustrated in Joseph Campbell's Occidental Mythology 1964, figure 19, the seated Goddess of the double-headed axe (the labrys) offers three poppy pods in her right hand and supports her breast with her left. She embodies both aspects of the dual goddess, life-giving and death-dealing at once. The Titan Orion was represented as "marrying" Side, a name that in Boeotia means "pomegranate", thus consecrating the primal hunter to the Goddess. Other Greek dialects call the pomegranate rhoa; its possible connection with the name of the earth goddess Rhea, inexplicable in Greek, proved suggestive for the mythographer Karl Kerenyi, who suggested that the consonance might ultimately derive from a deeper, pre-Indo-European language layer.
In modern times the pomegranate still holds strong symbolic meanings for the Greeks. On important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar, such as the Presentation of the Virgin Mary and on Christmas Day, it is traditional to have at the dinner table "polysporia", also known by their ancient name "panspermia," in some regions of Greece. In ancient times they were offered to Demeter[citation needed] and to the other gods for fertile land, for the spirits of the dead and in honor of compassionate Dionysus. When one buys a new home, it is conventional for a house guest to bring as a first gift a pomegranate, which is placed under/near the ikonostasi (home altar) of the house, as a symbol of abundance, fertility and good luck. Pomegranates are also prominent at Greek weddings and funerals. When Greeks commemorate their dead, they make kollyva as offerings, which consist of boiled wheat, mixed with sugar and decorated with pomegranate. It is also traditional in Greece to break a pomegranate on the ground at weddings and on New Years. Pomegranate decorations for the home are very common in Greece and sold in most home goods stores.[54]
Judaism
Pomegranates were eaten in Ancient Israel. Pomegranates were one of the fruits that the scouts brought to Moses to show that the "promised land" was fertile.[55] The Book of Exodus [56] describes the me'il ("robe of the ephod") worn by the Hebrew High Priest as having pomegranates embroidered on the hem. According to the Books of Kings [57] the capitals of the two pillars (Jachin and Boaz) that stood in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem were engraved with pomegranates. It is said that Solomon designed his coronet based on the pomegranate's "crown" (calyx).[52]It is traditional to eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashana because the pomegranate, with its numerous seeds, symbolizes fruitfulness. [58]Also, it is said to have 613 seeds, which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot or commandments of the Torah.
The pomegranate appears on ancient coins of Judea. When not in use, the scroll handles of Torah scrolls are sometimes covered with decorative silver globes similar in shape to "pomegranates" (rimmonim) Some Jewish scholars believe that it was the pomegranate that was the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden.[58] Pomegranates are one of the Seven Species (Hebrew: שבעת המינים, Shiv'at Ha-Minim) of fruits and grains enumerated in the Hebrew Bible (Deuteronomy 8:8) as being special products of the Land of Israel. The pomegranate is mentioned in the Bible many times, including this quote from the Songs of Solomon, "Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks." (Song of Solomon 4:3). Pomegranates also symbolize the mystical experience in the Jewish mystical tradition, or kabbalah, with the typical reference being to entering the "garden of pomegranates" or pardes rimonim; this is also the title of a book by the 16th-century mystic Moses ben Jacob Cordovero.
Christianity
In the earliest incontrovertible appearance of Christ in a mosaic, a fourth-century floor mosaic from Hinton St Mary, Dorset, now in the British Museum, the bust of Christ and the chi rho are flanked by pomegranates.[59] Pomegranates continue to be a motif often found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric of vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork. Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, often in the hands of the Virgin Mary or the infant Jesus. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' suffering and resurrection.[58] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, pomegranate seeds may be used in kolyva, a dish prepared for memorial services, as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom. The pomegranate is sometimes referred to as the forbidden fruit of The Garden of Eden.Islam
According to the Qur'an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of paradise (55:068).[58] The Qur'an also mentions pomegranates twice (6:99, 6:141) as examples of good things God creates.Azerbaijan
Main article: Pomegranate Festival
Annually in October, a cultural festival is held in Goychay, Azerbaijan known as Pomegranate Festival. The festival features Azerbaijani fruit-cuisine mainly the pomegranates from Goychay. At the festival, a parade is held with traditional Azerbaijani dances and Azerbaijani music.[60]Hinduism
In Hinduism, the pomegranate (Sanskrit: Beejpur, literally: replete with seeds) symbolizes prosperity and fertility, and is associated with both Bhoomidevi (the earth goddess) and Lord Ganesha (who is also called Bijapuraphalasakta, or the one fond of the many-seeded fruit).[61][62]Every part of the plant (root, bark, flowers, fruit, leaves) is used for medicinal purposes in Ayurveda[citation needed].
China
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Other cultures
In Vietnam, the pomegranate is called thạch lựu or trái lựu and the pomegranate flower is the symbol of summer. The famous Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Du wrote in "The Tale of Kieu": Đầu tường lửa lựu lập lòe đơm bông. (Over the wall, the flames of pomegranate flicker in blossom.)[citation needed]In Malaysia and Indonesia, the pomegranate is called delima and it is used as a metaphor bibirnya semerah delima (her lips is as red as the pomegranate).[citation needed]
Other
- The pomegranate is the symbol and heraldic device of the city of Granada in Andalusia, Spain.
- Pomegranate is one of the symbols of Armenia, representing fertility, abundance and marriage.
- It is the official logo of many cities in Turkey.
- Pomegranate juice is used for natural dyeing of non-synthetic fabrics.
- Although not native to Korea or Japan, the pomegranate is widely grown there and many cultivars have been developed. It is widely used for bonsai because of its flowers and for the unusual twisted bark that older specimens can attain.
- Balaustines, the red rose-like flowers of the pomegranate, taste bitter and may be used as an astringent in folk medicine.[64] The term "balaustine" (Latin: balaustinus) is also used for a pomegranate-red color.[65]
- In Mexico, pomegranate seeds are an essential ingredient of chiles en nogada, a favored food symbolizing the red component of the national flag.
- Kandahar is famous in Afghanistan for its high quality pomegranates.
- Pomegranate is displayed on coins from the ancient city of Side, Pamphylia.[66]
- Pomegranate is the name of a UK-based online poetry magazine for writers under thirty.
- The pomegranate fruit was an emblem in the coat of arms of Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536). She was the widow of Arthur, Prince of Wales but, more memorably, was King Henry VIII's first wife. However, when Henry and Catherine could not produce a male heir, the King eventually married Anne Boleyn. As Queen, Boleyn's first decree designated a new coat of arms, showing a white falcon pecking at a pomegranate.
- The carrack, Peter Pomegranate was named by Henry VIII after his first wife (See above) and Peter the Apostle.
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