#SciChallenge2017 Watch our short video about pomegrante and how does it affect ageing.

Authors: Sara Jamnik & Helena Perić;

Supervisors:
Alenka Mozer, Gimnazija Vic;
Mihaela Skrt, PhD, Biotechnical Faculty of University of Ljubljana;
Prof. Natasa Poklar Ulrih, PhD., Biotechnical Faculty of University of Ljubljana

The beneficial effects of pomegranate have been known for centuries and the fruit itself has been a symbol of health and prosperity across many cultures. Pomegranate has reportedly been used medicinally to help prevent diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and arthritis. It also has anti-microbial properties, anti-inflammatory properties, improves skin health and oral health. In addition it also helps people age slower. That is because pomegranate (like many other fruits) contains antioxidants, which prevent free radicals in our body to engage in oxidation process that damages our cells. Our goal was to prepare a food supplement from pomegranate juice extract. We focused on successful encapsulation of antioxidants found in pomegranate juice to prevent them from decomposing. We used two methods: lyophilization and micro-encapsulation. We micro-capsulated this dry extract with inulin into a polysaccharide shell in order to achieve long term stability. From all the different polysaccharides, inulin was chosen because of its prebiotic properties, so our food supplement would have additional positive health effects. Results of our research suggest that the size of micro-capsules has an influence on the velocity and quantity of released anthocyanins and antioxidants. Furthermore, we discovered that the concentration of pomegranate juice has a limited impact on the elimination of anthocyanins and antioxidants. In other words, even though the concentration is higher, it does not mean that the amount of anthocyanins and antioxidants in micro-capsules will also be higher.

Even though we still need to determine a repeatable method with the optimal conditions which would enable the highest possible efficiency of the process, we managed to successefully prepare microcapsules.