Ellagic Acid Production Using Pomegranate Husk And Leaves As Raw Materials

Ellagic acid is a kind of plant phenol, which is widely found in fruits and nuts. It is the breakdown product of ellagitannins, which is a group of hydrolysable tannins. People are increasingly aware of the importance of the positive effects of ingesting natural products especially from plants. Ellagic acid is widely used as functional food in the form of food addictive for its physiological functions such as anti-mutagenesis, anti-cancer, anti-oxygenation and so on in developed countries.A new method of preparing ellagic acid was developed:①The grounded pomegranate leaves powder was extracted by60%ethanol for four hours at80. After the mixture was centrifugated, the supernatant was condensed.3%(v/v) H2SO4was added into it then, the mixture was refluxed for8hr at105℃. The reactant was filtrated after the reaction finished. The filtrate cake was washed by water and desiccated. The pure ellagic acid was light yellow powder and the purity of the ellagic acid is over70%.②The grounded pomegranate leaves powder3%(v/v) H2SO4was added into it then, the mixture was refluxed for8hr at105℃. The reactant was filtrated after the reaction finished. The filtrate cake was washed by water and desiccated. The pure ellagic acid was light yellow powder and the purity of the ellagic acid is over27%.③The grounded pomegranate husk powder was extracted by60%ethanol for four hours at80℃. After the mixture was centrifugated, the supernatant was condensed.5%(v/v) H2SO4was added into it then, the mixture was refluxed for10hr at105℃. The reactant was filtrated after the reaction finished. The filtrate cake was washed by water and desiccated. The pure ellagic acid was light yellow powder and the purity of the ellagic acid is over40%.④The grounded pomegranate husk powder5%(v/v) H2SO4was added into it then, the mixture was refluxed for11hr at105℃. The reactant was filtrated after the reaction finished. The filtrate cake was washed by water and desiccated. The pure ellagic acid was light yellow powder and the purity of the ellagic acid is over26%.⑤The crude product of ellagic acid was first dissolved in NaOH solution. After filtration, the filtrate was neutralized by10%HCl to pH4. The pure ellagic acid was light yellow powder and the purity of the ellagic acid is over93%.