Abstract:

The distribution of ellagic acid (EA), oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) in the petals, receptacle stamens,
leaves and peel of ‘Daqingpi’ pomegranate in Zaozhuang of Shandong province was studied using high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the content of EA was in the decreasing order of petals (5.78 mg/g) >
receptacle (5.22 mg/g) > stamens (4.93 mg/g) > leaves (3.67 mg/g) > peel (2.12 mg/g); for UA, the decreasing order was
stamens (6.22 mg/g) > petals (5.91 mg/g) > leaves (2.90 mg/g) > receptacle (1.06 mg/g) > peel (0.33 mg/g); and for OA,
the decreasing order was petals (6.62 mg/g) > stamens (4.02 mg/g) > leaves (1.41 mg/g) > receptacle (0.79 mg/g) > peel
(0.28 mg/g). It is suggested that leaves, peel and flowers of pomegranate may be used as raw materials for extracting EA and
triterpene. Especially, the flowers have better prospects for development and utilization.

Key words: pomegranate, ellagic acid, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, distribution