Pomegranate Benefits

Benefits of Pomegranate The seeds of the pomegranate contain distinct antioxidant properties which help in anti-aging and skin rejuvenation. It is ideal for the treatment of acne. Found in body creams and hair products helping to take care and moisturize hair while preventing frizz of hair, making it look shiny and healthy. It has beneficial properties (hair - skin - face - body) as a cosmetic. Protects skin and hair from UV radiation. Contains minerals and vitamins A, B, C, E, iron, potassium, fiber, carbohydrates classifying pomegranate a super food. Generally, a pomegranate covers 40 % of the amount of vitamin C and 25 % of folic acid daily needed as an adult. It is excellent for the treatment of dry skin even in difficult areas such as elbows and knees. The astringent, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, and antidiarheal properties of the pomegranate make it a valuable “medicine”. Protects from brain damage, throwing blood pressure and improves sexual function. Used to treat chronic diarrhea, dysentery and bleeding and to treat osteoarthritis. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate The pomegranate /ˈpɒmɨɡrænɨt/, botanical name Punica granatum , is a fruit -bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between 5–8 meters (16–26 ft) tall. The pomegranate is considered to have originated in Iran and has been cultivated since ancient times. [1][2][3] Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of southern Europe , the Middle East and Caucasus region, northern Africa and tropical Africa , the Indian subcontinent , Central Asia and the drier parts of southeast Asia .[4] Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona .[5] In the Northern Hemisphere , the fruit is typically in season from September to February. [6] In the Southern Hemisphere , the pomegranate is in season from March to May. The pomegranate has been mentioned in many ancient texts, notably in Babylonian texts, the Book of Exodus , the Homeric Hymns and the Quran .[7] In recent years, it has become more common in the commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere. [4][5] Pomegranates are used in cooking, baking, juices, smoothies and alcoholic beverages, such as martinis and wine. [8] Description The Punica granatum leaves are opposite or sub-opposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are bright red, 3 cm in diameter, with four to five petals (often more on cultivated plants). Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone. The edible fruit is a berry and is between a lemon and a grapefruit in size, 5–12 cm in diameter with a rounded hexagonal shape, and has thick reddish skin. The exact number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1400 seeds, contrary to some beliefs that all pomegranates have exactly the same number of seeds.[9] Each seed has a surrounding water- laden pulp—the edible sarcotesta that forms from the seed coat—ranging in color from white to deep red or purple. The seeds are "exarillate", i.e., unlike some other species in the Myrtales there is no aril . The sarcotesta of pomegranate seeds consists of epidermal cells derived from the integument , and there are no arils on these seeds. [10] The seeds are embedded in a white, spongy, astringent membrane. [11] Cultivation Unripened Pomegranate fruit on a small tree in India Illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé , 1885 Pomegranate blossom before petal fall Punica granatum is grown as a fruit crop plant, and as ornamental trees and shrubs in parks and gardens . Mature specimens can develop sculptural twisted bark multi-trunks and a distinctive overall form. 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 can be prone to root decay from fungal diseases. They can be tolerant of moderate frost , down to about −12 °C (10 °F ). [12] Insect pests of the pomegranate can include the pomegranate butterfly Virachola isocrates and the leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus zonatus . Pomegranate grows easily from seed, but is commonly propagated from 25–50 cm hardwood cuttings to avoid the genetic variation of seedlings. Air layering is also an option for propagation, but grafting fails. [4] Varieties Punica granatum var. nana is a dwarf variety of P. granatum popularly planted as an ornamental plant in gardens and larger containers, and used as a bonsai specimen tree. It could well be a wild form with a distinct origin. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit .[13] 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. [14] Cultivars Punica granatum has more than 500 named cultivars , but the pomegranate evidently has considerable synonymy in which the same genotype is named differently across regions of the world. [15] 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), seed-coat color (ranging from white to red), hardness of seed, maturity, juice content and its acidity, sweetness, and astringency. [15] Etymology and terms for pomegranate in other languages An opened pomegranate The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pōmum "apple" and gr ānātum "seeded". [16] This has influenced the common name for pomegranate in many languages (e.g. granada in Spanish, Granatapfel or Grenadine in German, grenade in French, granatäpple in Swedish, pomogranà in Venetian ). Mālum gr ānātus , using the classical Latin word for apple, gives rise to the Italian name melograno , or less commonly melagrana .[17] Perhaps stemming from the old 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 .[18] The genus name Punica refers to the Phoenicians , who were active in broadening its cultivation, partly for religious reasons. Garnet comes from Old French grenat by metathesis , from Medieval Latin granatum , here used in a different meaning: "of a dark red color". This meaning perhaps originated from pomum granatum because of the color of pomegranate pulp, or from granum in the sense of "red dye, cochineal ". [19] The French term grenade for pomegranate has given its name to the military grenade .[20] Soldiers commented on the similar shape of early grenades and the name entered common usage. While most European languages have cognate names for the fruit, stemming from Latin granatum , exceptions are the Armenian term nur , Albanian term shega , Bulgarian nar and the Portuguese term romã which is derived from Arabic ruman , and has cognates in other Semitic languages (e.g. Hebrew rimmon ) and Ancient Egyptian rmn . Cultural history Pomegranate sepals and drying stamens after fertilization and petal fall A pomegranate fruit The pomegranate is native to Persia (modern day Iran). [21] Pomegranates also thrive in the drier climates of California and Arizona, and have been cultivated in Iran , Iraq , Azerbaijan , Armenia , Afghanistan , Pakistan , India , Russia, Bangladesh and the Mediterranean region for several millennia. [22][23] Carbonized exocarp of the fruit has been identified in Early Bronze Age levels of Jericho in the West Bank , 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. [24] 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. Kandahar is famous in Afghanistan for its high quality pomegranates. 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. [25] The term "balaustine" ( Latin : balaustinus ) is also used for a pomegranate-red color. [26] Pomegranate cultivation in Italy is diffused throughout the south, especially in Olevano sul Tusciano and the rest of Campania 's area. 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." [27] 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. John Bartram partook of "delitious" pomegranates with Noble Jones at Wormsloe Plantation , near Savannah , Georgia , in September 1765.

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