Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) a dry pericarp fruit with fleshy seeds

Abstract

Background: Recently, pomegranate has established itself as a functional food of increasing interest, both economically and within the scientific community, which has generated a significant increase in publications focused mainly on its characteristics, benefits, and nutritional composition. Scope and approach: However, despite those papers maintaining scientific rigor, failures and/or errors of interpretation are evidenced concerning basic botanical concepts regarding the pomegranate fruit. Given this, and as a way of contributing to the homogenization of knowledge, this short communication defines the concepts of “seed”, “aril”, and “testa” as specifically applied to the pomegranate fruit by recovering historical botanical publications. Key findings and conclusions: The literature studied showed incorrect usage of botanical terms regarding pomegranate parts. The pomegranate seed is the whole grain. It is composed of sarcotesta, sclerotized mesotesta, tegmen, nucela, and embryo with cotyledons, and constitutes the edible portion of this complex fruit called balausta. The whole pomegranate seed cannot be called aril, because it is exariled or without aril seed.