Pomegranate juice adulteration is a common phenomenon in the market. The
main reasons are associated with high product demand, high price, limited harvest
season, and lack of production in some region. The most common adulteration methods
are: (i) dilution with water, (ii) adding sugars or sweet juices, (iii) adding a part of
lemon juice, (iv) adding fruit juices with intense red colour, and (v) adding liquids
which have lower price like grape, peach or pear juice. To protect the consumer and to
prevent unfair competition, authenticity and compliance with the product specification
must be guaranteed. An adulterated pomegranate juice can be analysed with the
determination of chemical composition. The methods commonly used for detection of
adulterated pomegranate juice are the profiling and quantification of some compounds
such as carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, amino acids, anthocyanins and pigments,
and organic acids. The traditional chemical analysis techniques such as highperformance
liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), and
attenuated total reflection (ATR)-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have
also been successfully performed for the detection of the authenticity of pomegranate
juices. This review summarizes the adulteration methods and analysis of pomegranate
juice.
Keywords: Amino acids, Adulteration, Authenticity, Chemical analysis
techniques, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
(FTIR) spectroscopy, High-performance liquid chromatography, International
Multidimensional Authenticity Algorithm Specifications (IMAS), Organic acids,
Phenolic compounds, Pomegranate juice, Stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA).
