The use of natural substances in cosmetics has significantly increased, helping to improve the quality of cosmetics, to prevent microbial contamination, and to reduce the use of synthetic preservatives within an ecological and sustainable framework. In this perspective, agri-food waste represents a promising source of bioactive compounds capable of supporting cosmetic preservation without affecting the skin microbiota. Among these resources, pomegranate by-products are particularly noteworthy due to their richness in bioactive compounds, whose considerable antioxidant and antibacterial properties make them highly suitable for this purpose. In particular, the extracts obtained from the peel and male flowers of four pomegranate varieties (Wonderful, Mollar de Elche, Parfianka, and G1) cultivated in Marche region were characterized for their chemical composition and evaluated for their antioxidant and antimicrobial profiles.
The extracts showed a high polyphenol content, with punicalagin and punicalin as the major compounds, and this composition correlated with their ability to inhibit microbial growth. Peel extracts from two pomegranate varieties exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, while all cultivars were active against Candida albicans. A reduction of 70% of Staphylococcus aureus growth was also observed in a microdilution assay for one of the peel extracts. Moreover, no cytotoxicity was detected, confirming the safety and suitability of these by-products as natural functional ingredients for cosmetic formulations within a circular economy approach.
Suggestest by Dr. Maria Rosa Gigliobianco