Food Control 78 (2017) 132e137

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Food Control
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Food fraud detection in commercial pomegranate molasses syrups by

UVeVIS spectroscopy, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and HPLC methods
Nada El Darra a, *, 1, Hiba N. Rajha b, 1, Fatima Saleh a, Rami Al-Oweini c,
Richard G. Maroun b, Nicolas Louka b
a
Beirut Arab University, Faculty of Heath Sciences, Tarik El Jedidah, Beirut, P.O.Box: 115020, Riad EL Solh, 1107 2809, Lebanon
b
Unit
e de Recherche Technologies et Valorisation Agro-alimentaire, Centre d’Analyses et de Recherche, Facult e des Sciences, Universit
e Saint-Joseph, B.P. 11-
514, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2050, Lebanon
c
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Beirut Arab University, P.O. Box 11 50 20, Riad El Solh, 1107 2809, Beirut, Lebanon

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Food fraud is a serious ethical and economic problem affecting the food industry everywhere. As
Received 20 September 2016 pomegranate molasses’ consumption continues to increase due to its unique taste and antioxidant ac-
Received in revised form tivity, its adulteration is taking several forms. Customers are deluded by the “100% pomegranate content”
13 February 2017
label present on most of the commercial pomegranate molasses. The purpose of this study was to detect,
Accepted 16 February 2017
for the first time, the adulteration of commercial pomegranate molasses with date molasses. To distin-
guish pomegranate molasses from the date syrup, we determined different parameters that could signal
adulteration, such as total acidity content, polyphenol yield, anthocyanins concentration, colour intensity
Keywords:
Fraud
and antiradical activity. UVeVIS spectroscopy was used as a screening method to detect fraud and High
Pomegranate molasses Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was conducted for a quantitative analysis. Additionally,
Date syrup Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier-Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopic analysis was con-
Polyphenols ducted to compare the resulting spectra of commercial pomegranate molasses, natural pomegranate
ATR-FTIR molasses and date syrup. Our findings support the hypothesis that some of the commercialized pome-
granate molasses in the Middle East area are adulterated with cheaper date syrup.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction antitumoral (Seidi, Jahanban-Esfahlan, Abasi, & Abbasi, 2016),

Pomegranate Molasses (PM) is a thick syrup obtained from
pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) juice concentration. It is a
slightly astringent, sweet-sour condiment that gained a crucial
interest as a medicinal and nutritional product (Johanningsmeier &
Harris, 2011). PM has many health-related beneficial effects, espe-
cially in the prevention and treatment of several illnesses. They
decelerate the progress of chronic diseases due to their strong
antioxidant (Cam, Hisil, & Durmaz, 2009; Faria & Calhau, 2010;
Viuda-Martos, Ferna ndez-Lo pez, & Pe 
rez-Alvarez, 2010),
* Corresponding author. Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Faculty of Health
Sciences, P.O. Box: 11 5020, Beirut, Lebanon.
E-mail addresses: n.aldarra@bau.edu.lb, healthsciences@bau.edu.lb (N. El Darra),
hiba.rajha@net.usj.edu.lb (H.N. Rajha), f.saleh@bau.edu.lb (F. Saleh), roweini@bau.
edu.lb (R. Al-Oweini), richard.maroun@usj.edu.lb (R.G. Maroun), nicolas.louka@
usj.edu.lb (N. Louka).
URL: http://www.bau.edu.lb
1
Both Nada El Darra and Hiba N. Rajha equally contributed to this work.
antimicrobial (Duman, Ozgen, Dayisoylu, Erbil, & Durgac, 2009),
anti-inflammatory (Lee, Chen, Liang, & Wang, 2010) and antidia-
betic properties (Xu, Zhu, Kim, Yamahara, & Li, 2009). PM was also
shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Being an
expensive functional food, cheaper fruit juices are deceptively
added to the pomegranate molasses to reduce its production cost.
The added juices are not declared in the labeling, which subjects
allergic end consumers to dangerous risks (Boggia, Casolino,
Hysenaj, Oliveri, & Zunin, 2013). Different types of juices were
used to adulterate pomegranate juices such as grapes, apples,
cherry, sour cherry and strawberry (Zhang et al., 2009). As far as the
commercial pomegranate molasses were concerned, all the com-
panies claimed on the package that none of them contained un-
declared added juices. The detection of pomegranate juice
adulteration was established by different advanced analytical ap-
proaches like FITR spectroscopy (Vardin, Tay, Ozen, & Mauer, 2008).
Zhang et al. (2009) authenticated pomegranate juice by developing
an algorithm to assess the chemical profile of the juice including

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2017.02.043
0956-7135/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 N. El Darra et al. / Food Control 78 (2017) 132e137
phenolic diversity, sugar concentration and organic acids content.
High performance liquid chromatography coupled with Mass
Spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was also used to discern authentic
pomegranate juices from the adulterated ones with grapes and
apples through the detection of the organic acids profiles (citric,
malic, quinic and tartaric) (Ehling & Cole, 2011). The main aim of
this study was to test the adulteration of commercial pomegranate
molasses with date molasses by developing a rapid, easy, qualita-
tive and affordable technique. In order to distinguish pomegranate
molasses from the date syrup, different parameters were
compared: total acidity content, polyphenol and anthocyanins
concentrations, colour intensity and antiradical activity. UVeVIS
spectroscopy was used to analyze the different samples of com-
mercial pomegranate molasses suspected of adulteration by date
molasses. This method is a first screening step, qualitative and
quantitative tool to detect the presence of date syrup in commercial
pomegranate molasses. Each analyzed sample was described as a
vector of absorbance proposed a fingerprint. A second-step com-
parison between UVeVIS spectroscopy and High Performance
Liquid Chromatography coupled with Diode Array Detector (HPLC-
DAD) was conducted, in order to confirm the validity of the
developed technique. Moreover, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, which is
both an easy and a nondestructive technique, was utilized as a
qualitative control to distinguish between the different molecular
information of the pomegranate molasses liquid samples’ func-
tional groups. To our knowledge, no study has yet shown that date
syrup is a potential raw material to adulterate commercial pome-
granate molasses. Moreover, this study suggests that the biological
activity of a product, such as its radical scavenging capacity, along
with a simple combination of spectrophotometric analyses (colour
intensity, anthocyanin content and UVeVIS screening) can prove
the authenticity of pomegranate molasses.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Samples preparation
Two natural samples of authentic pomegranate molasses (NPM1
and NPM 2) (Punica granatum L.), 3 commercial pomegranate
molasses (CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3) and 1 natural date syrup (DS)
samples were studied. A 50 times dilution was conducted (w/v)
prior to analyses.
2.2. Chemicals
All chemicals were purchased from Fluka Chemie GmbH (Buchs,
Switzerland) or from SigmaeAldrich (Steinheim, Germany).
2.3. Total acidity measurement
The total acidity measurement was conducted by an acid/base
(0.1 N NaOH) titration with an indicator dye (bromothymol blue
(4 g/L)).
2.4. Colour intensity and total phenolic index
Colour intensity (CI) was monitored through the absorbance
measurement of appropriately diluted samples at 420 nm (yellow),
520 nm (red), and 620 nm (blue) and was expressed as the sum of
the three values (Glories, 1984). The total phenolic index (TPI) was
determined from the absorbance at 280 nm after a 100-fold dilu-
tion. A UVeVIS spectrophotometer V-530 (Jasco Inc.) with 1 cm
path length rectangular quartz cuvettes was used.
133
2.5. Anthocyanin concentration
Anthocyanin concentration was conducted based on their
discoloration by SO2 (Ribe reau-Gayon, Glories, Maujean, &
Dubourdieu, 2006). 1 mL of each sample was added to 20 mL of
HCl (2%) and 1 mL of ethanol (0.1% HCl). The mixture was split in
two tubes containing 4 mL of distilled water and 4 mL of sodium
bisulfite (15%) respectively. Bleaching occurs instantaneously in the
tube containing SO2. The optical density was measured (after
20 min) at 520 nm against distilled water. Anthocyanin concen-
tration (A) (mg/L) was calculated as follows:
mg   
A ¼ 875  DOtube 1 in water  DOtube 2 in bisulfite
L
with 875 being the slope of the calibration curve obtained from
malvidin-3-glucoside.
2.6. UVeVIS spectroscopy
Absorption spectra in the ultraviolet and visible regions were
obtained in the range of 190e1100 nm using a UVeVIS spectro-
photometer V-530 (Jasco Inc.) with 1 nm resolution. The cells were
rectangular quartz cuvettes with 1 cm path length. MilliQ water
was used as a blank. For each sample the spectrum was collected at
room temperature in duplicate and the results were averaged
(Boggia et al., 2013).
2.7. HPLC-DAD analysis
Polyphenol analyses were performed using a Jasco HPLC system
(PV-2089) equipped with an autosampler, an L-2130 pump, a Jet-
stream column oven and an L-2450 diode array detector. The sep-
aration was carried out with a Column C18, 25  0.46 mm. The
diode array detector was set at an acquisition range of
200e600 nm. Trans-cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, hydroxybenzoic
acid, chlorogenic acid, catechin, rutin, quercetin, protocatechin,
gallic acid, epigallocatechin, kaempferol, catechin gallate and
myrecetin standards were used for identification and quantification
purposes with HPLC-DAD, respectively. All these phenolic stan-
dards were purchased from Sigma Laboratories.
2.7.1. HPLC protocol for anthocyanin detection
The mobile phase consisted of 5% (v/v) formic acid in water
(eluent A) and of formic acid, water and methanol (10/10/80, v/v/v;
eluent B). The flow rate was 0.4 mL/min and the gradient program
was optimized as follows: 10e14% B (5 min), 14e23% B (11 min),
23e35% B (5 min), 35e40% B (14 min), 40e100% B (3 min), 100% B
isocratic (3 min), 100e10% B (3 min), 10% B isocratic (4 min). The
total run time was 48 min. The injection volume of all samples was
10 mL. Monitoring was performed at 520 nm (Fischer, Carle, &
Kammerer, 2011).
2.7.2. HPLC protocol for non-anthocyanin detection
The mobile phase consisted of 2% (v/v) acetic acid in water
(eluent A) and of 0.5% acetic acid in water and methanol (10/90, v/v;
eluent B). The flow rate was 0.4 mL/min, and the gradient program
was optimized as follows: 0e2% B (13 min), 2e5% B (5 min), 5e10%
B (5 min), 10e25% B (20 min), 25e50% B (10 min), 50e100% B
(5 min), 100% B isocratic (5 min), 100e0% B (3 min), 0% B isocratic
(5 min). The total run time was 71 min. The injection volume for all
samples was 15 mL. Monitoring was performed at 280 nm and
320 nm ((Fischer et al., 2011).
134 N. El Darra et al. / Food Control 78 (2017) 132e137
2.8. Radical scavenging activity
According to (Kallithraka, Mohdaly, Makris, & Kefalas, 2005), the
free radical scavenging activity was measured by the capacity of the
polyphenols to reduce DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl), a stable
free radical. 50 mL of extracts were added to 450 mL of Tris-HCl
buffer solution (50 mM, pH 7.4) and 1.5 mL of DPPH solution
(0.1 mM). Absorbance at 517 nm was measured after 30 min of
incubation at room temperature using pure methanol as a blank.
The inhibition percentage of the DPPH free radical is calculated as
follows: Inhibition Percentage ¼ [(absorbance of negative
control  absorbance of sample)/absorbance of negative
control]  100. The free radical scavenging activity was evaluated
by the decrease in the peak area of the DPPH radical which exhibits
a deep purple colour with maximum absorption at 517 nm. Anti-
oxidant molecules can quench DPPH free radicals, provoking a
discoloration of the latter and its conversion into a colorless
product.
2.9. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy
The Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier-Transform Infrared
(ATR-FTIR) spectra were recorded on a Nicolet™ 4700 FTIR spec-
trometer equipped with a multi-bounce ZnSe crystal ATR accessory,
and OMNIC software. The spectra were collected over 32 scans in
the 4000e650 cm1 range with a resolution of 4 cm1. The
following abbreviations were used to assign the peak intensities:
w ¼ weak; m ¼ medium; s ¼ strong; sh ¼ shoulder; br ¼ broad.
2.10. Statistical analysis
All experiments were repeated at least three times for the
calculation of the standard deviations. Variance analyses (ANOVA)
and Least Significant Difference test (LSD) were carried out to
assess the significant differences between the results. STAT-
GRAPHICS® Centurion XV (StatPoint Technologies, Inc.) was used to
conduct the statistical analysis.
3. Results and discussion
Fraud detection through polyphenol diversity, quantity and
bioactivity
Fig. 1. UVeVIS spectral profiles for the different samples NPM1, NPM2, CPM1, CPM2,
CPM3, and DS.
3.1. UVeVIS spectral profiles of natural pomegranate molasses,
commercial pomegranate molasses and date syrup
Fig. 1 shows the UVeVIS spectral profiles examined for the
different studied samples; natural (NPM1 and NPM2) and com-
mercial (CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3) pomegranate molasses; that were
compared to date syrup (DS). Authentic and commercial pome-
granate molasses as well as date syrup were characterized by a
maximal absorption at 280 nm wavelength. Natural pomegranate
molasses’ samples showed the highest peak amplitudes with
almost similar maximal optical density values ranging from 1.01 to
1.14 for NPM1 and NPM2 respectively. On the other hand, com-
mercial pomegranate molasses and date syrup had significantly
lower peak amplitudes equal to 0.41, 0.35, 0.42 and 0.34 for CMP1,
CPM2, CPM3 and DS respectively. This dissimilarity can be attrib-
uted to a different concentration and/or diversity of the absorbing
molecules of phenolic compounds (Boggia et al., 2013). This result
shows an extreme resemblance between the spectra of natural
pomegranate molasses that clearly differ from those obtained with
commercial pomegranate molasses and date syrup.
3.2. Characterization and identification of polyphenols by HPLC
(280 nm)
Fig. 2 shows the retention times and the corresponding peak
heights of the major phenolic compounds detected by HPLC. Nat-
ural pomegranate molasses had two major peaks with similar
heights detected at identical retention times (31.412 and
68.497 min) suggesting the same diversity and quantity of the two
polyphenols in NPM1 and NPM2. These Two phenolic compounds
were identified as rutin (retention time: 31.412) and gallic acid
(retention time: 68.497) (Fig. 2). Rutin concentrations in NPM1 and
NPM2 were 18 mg/mL; whereas those of CPM1, CPM2, CPM3 and
DS were 3 mg/mL. The highest gallic acid concentration was found
in NPM1 and NPM2 with 0.31 and 0.28 mg/mL, respectively.
Commercial pomegranate molasses CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3
showed a similar gallic acid content (0.14 mg/mL) to that obtained
with date syrup (significantly lower peak heights than NPM1 and
NPM2). HPLC results showed a significant correlation with UVeVIS
spectral profile. On the other hand, three different polyphenols
with similar peak heights were exclusively detected (retention
times: 11.285, 8.95 and 7.658) in commercial pomegranate
Fig. 2. HPLC results (280 nm) for the different samples NPM1, NPM2, CPM1, CPM2,
CPM3, and DS.
 N. El Darra et al. / Food Control 78 (2017) 132e137
molasses and date syrup. Therefore, our results indicate the adul-
teration of commercial pomegranate molasses with date syrup. The
comparison of HPLC phenolic profile of a sample could therefore be
suggested as a simple tool to ensure the authenticity of molasses.
The similarity in the diversity and quantity of the phenolic com-
pounds between commercial pomegranate molasses and date
syrup highlights the possible addition of date syrup to natural
pomegranate molasses to obtain commercial pomegranate
molasses.
3.3. Comparison between the anthocyanins concentration of the
natural and commercial pomegranate molasses and the
pomegranate juice by bisulfite discoloration and HPLC
Noting that, there is universal agreement of the presence of a
highly constant group of six anthocyanins (delphinidin-3,5-
diglucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside,
cyanidin-3-glucoside, pelargonidin-3,5-diglucoside, and pelargo-
nidin-3-glucoside) characterizing pomegranate juice polyphenols;
anthocyanin profiles can be used to detect the adulteration of the
commercial pomegranate molasses (Zhang et al., 2009). Based on
the hypothesis that natural pomegranate molasses are mixed with
date syrup to prepare commercial molasses, the analysis of an-
thocyanins was conducted. Fig. 3a shows the anthocyanin yield
obtained by the bisulfite spectrophotometric method and the
anthocyanin area obtained by HPLC (Fig. 3b). The anthocyanin
Fig. 3. Anthocyanin concentration determined by bisulfite discoloration method (a),
HPLC peak areas of anthocyanins (b) determined for samples NPM1, NPM2, CPM1,
CPM2, CPM3, and DS, correlation between the spectrophotometric and HPLC methods
(c) and colour intensity (d). Different letters (a, b, c) indicate significant statistical
difference between means (p < 0.05). (For interpretation of the references to colour in
this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
135
concentration of the two natural pomegranate molasses (NPM1
and NPM2) is around 118 and 113 mg/L respectively; whereas the
commercial pomegranate molasses show lower yields of 87.5 mg/L.
On the other hand, DS presents an anthocyanin concentration of
131.25 mg/L (Fig. 3a). A similar tendency was obtained by HPLC
analysis (Fig. 3b). Since a similar final texture and viscosity are
required for both natural and commercial molasses, a boiling
phenomenon was suspected to have occurred after mixing the
natural pomegranate molasses with date syrup to obtain the same
final characteristics of the fraudulent molasses as the natural ones.
Anthocyanins, being heat-sensitive polyphenols, are likely to be the
most affected with this boiling phenomenon (Sadilova, Stintzing, &
Carle, 2006), which explains lower anthocyanin yields for CPM1,
CPM2 and CPM3 as compared to NPM1, NPM2 and DS. To validate
the heat degradation process of anthocyanins, pomegranate juices
were compared to pomegranate molasses that endured a boiling
phenomenon throughout the industrial process. A mean anthocy-
anin content of 650 mg/L was obtained for pomegranate juices,
with an HPLC surface area of 517 737 (Data not shown), as opposed
to 113 mg/L and 130 000 respectively, for pomegranate molasses.
A high correlation was observed between the anthocyanin
concentration determination by the bisulfite discoloration method
and that obtained by area calculation in HPLC analyses (R2 ¼ 0.99);
suggesting both methods can be used to compare the authenticity
of different samples (Fig. 3c). Similar to the anthocyanin content
results, the highest colour intensity was obtained for date syrup 9.7
followed by natural PM 8 and then CPM around 7 (Fig. 3d). A strong
correlation was noted between anthocyanin concentration and
colour intensity. This was also shown by many previous studies
(Boulton, 2001; Preys et al., 2006).
3.4. Radical scavenging activity of natural pomegranate molasses,
commercial pomegranate molasses and date syrup
Fig. 4 shows the radical scavenging capacity of NPM1, NPM2,
CPM1, CPM2, CPM3 and DS. The highest inhibition percentage of
the DPPH. radical (25%) was obtained with date syrup; whereas the
lowest values were obtained for NPM1 and NPM2 (8.5 and 6.8%,
respectively). The high antioxidant capacity of date syrup was re-
ported in many previous studies (Al-Farsi et al., 2007; Vayalil,
2002). Commercial pomegranate molasses (CPM1, CPM2 and
Fig. 4. Antiradical activity (DPPH inhibition percentage) of the different samples
NPM1, NPM2, CPM1, CPM2, CPM3, and DS (at 50 mg/mL). Different letters (a, b, c)
indicate significant statistical difference between means (p < 0.05).
136 N. El Darra et al. / Food Control 78 (2017) 132e137
Fig. 5. Acidity of the different samples NPM1, NPM2, CPM1, CPM2, CPM3, and DS.
Different letters (a, b, c, d) indicate significant statistical difference between means
(p < 0.05).
CPM3) represented intermediate inhibition percentages of 15.9,
16.1 and 17% respectively. These observations support the possi-
bility of date syrup addition to natural pomegranate molasses to
form cheaper commercial pomegranate molasses. On the other
hand, the higher radical scavenging capacity induced by date syrup
addition to natural pomegranate molasses suggests that it is
beneficial to industrials to declare this procedure and avoid fraud.
Fig. 6. ATR-FTIR spectra of NPM1 (upper) and DS (lower) 1 (a), ATR-FTIR spectra of DS, NPM1, CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3 from top to bottom, respectively (b).
Fraud detection through acidity
3.5. Acidity measurements
Fig. 5 shows that the total acidity in citric acid (g per 100 mL) is
the highest for the commercial pomegranate molasses (CPM1,
CPM2 and CPM3), with values between 3.2 and 3.52 g per 100 mL.
Lower values were observed for NPM1, NPM2 (1.92 g per 100 mL)
and DS (0.96 g per 100 mL). This difference in acidity between
natural and commercial pomegranate molasses was suspected to
be due to citric acid addition to the commercial PM without always
declaring it on the labels. Therefore, commercial pomegranate
molasses should not be declared 100% natural. It is worth noting
that adding citric acid to commercial pomegranate molasses
adulterated with date syrup is to mask the sweet taste of date by
enhancing the sour taste.
Fraud detection through qualitative molecular vibration
identification
3.6. ATR-FTIR spectroscopic analysis
ATR-FTIR spectra of natural pomegranate NPM1, commercial
pomegranate molasses CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3, as well as date
syrup DS are shown in Fig. 6a and b. Particularly, Fig. 6a shows the
spectra of the natural pomegranate in comparison with the DS
sample; then Fig. 6b correspond to the spectra of the commercial
pomegranate molasses CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3 respectively in
comparison with both the natural pomegranate and the date syrup;
and finally Fig. 6b combines the spectra of CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3
for the sake of comparison, which also reflects their close similarity
 N. El Darra et al. / Food Control 78 (2017) 132e137
to each other. Accordingly, the broad absorption band occurring at
around 3320 cm1 (br) corresponds to OeH stretching vibrations,
and the band occurring at 2930 cm1 (m) corresponds to the anti-
symmetric stretching vibrations nasCeH of a eCH2. Moreover, the
absorption bands at around 1720 cm1 (s); 1640 cm1 (s);
1230 cm1 (s) and 1060 cm1 (s,br); and 910 cm1 (w) correspond
to C]O stretching, eC]Ce stretching, CeO stretching, and OeH
stretching vibrations, respectively (Al-Oweini & El-Rassy, 2009; Al-
Oweini, Aghyarian, & El-Rassy, 2012; Al-Oweini et al., 2014; Vardin
et al., 2008). The main noticeable difference within the spectra,
specifically between the natural pomegranate sample and the date
syrup (Fig. 6a), is the presence of an additional absorption band at
around 1720 cm1 (s) in the spectrum of NPM1 which is missing
from the spectrum of the DS (Vardin et al., 2008). The evident proof
for the suspected adulteration of the commercial molasses with
date syrup is the increased intensity of the absorption peak at
1640 cm1 which had a similar intensity to the peak at 1720 cm1
in the spectrum of the natural pomegranate, however this was not
the case anymore in the tested commercial samples, this could be
seen in the all the spectra of CPM1, CPM2 and CPM3 (Fig. 6b).
4. Conclusion
Owing to its health benefits and antioxidant properties, pome-
granate molasses is becoming increasingly popular in the Middle
East region and worldwide. However, due to the high price of
pomegranate, its deliberate adulteration with a cheaper component
for economic gain is on the rise. The aim of this study was to use a
cost-effective technique to prove molasses’ adulteration with date
syrup and citric acid. UV/VIS spectroscopy was first used, by
measuring the loss of absorbance in commercial samples compared
to natural pomegranate molasses, as a screening method to
determine the extent to which the pomegranate molasses has been
adulterated with date syrup. HPLC coupled with diode array de-
tector was then followed to carry out a fingerprint analysis of
pomegranate molasses adulteration. Moreover, the use of ATR-FTIR
served as an additional evidence for the noticeable difference be-
tween natural and commercial pomegranate molasses. It is also
important to highlight that, to our knowledge; this is the first time
that pomegranate molasses were detected for adulteration with
date syrup.
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