Effect of Processing Techniques on Nutritional Parameters of Antioxidant Rich Pomegranate Flowers

Background: India is the largest producer of pomegranate in world. The cultivation is having a drawback of producing more of agricultural waste; all bloomed flowers do not get developed to a proper fruit and drops down earlier only. Dropped flowers may be the male flowers which drop naturally after pollination and others are female flowers which dropped due to environmental conditions or agricultural factors. According to the literature, pomegranate flowers are chemically composed of various phenol compounds which shows medical properties like peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor property which helps in fats and glucose anabolism, antioxidative property, anti-inflammatory property and also hepatoprotective property. Methods: The study was conducted reduce the agricultural waste by finding some nutritive composition of flowers. Nutritional analysis (energy, protein, fat and carbohydrates) and antioxidant analysis (Vitamin C and gallic acid) of fresh and shade dried pomegranate flowers of three different varieties i.e. Solapur Lal, Bhagwa and Ruby were done. Result: Our findings shows that shade dried pomegranate flowers of ruby variety are having highest mean values for energy (334.7833±0.571) and carbohydrates. (72.176±0.123). protein and Fat content was found to be highest in shade dried pomegranate flowers of Solapur Lal variety with mean values as 10.350±0.121 and 0.813±0.0152 respectively. For antioxidant content, Shade dried pomegranate flowers of ruby variety contains highest amount of both the antioxidants i.e. Vitamin C and gallic acid with the mean values as 35.330±0.249 and 1533.873±11.265, respectively.