o:36138 Cytotoxicity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and sun protection potential of spray-dried Punica granatum peel extract en Punica granatum (pomegranate) possesses strong antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity due to the presence of various organic acids, alkaloids, phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids, anthocyanins, sugars, fatty acids, and vitamins. Thus, in the present study, spray-dried pomegranate peel extract was examined in terms of its cytotoxicity and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and sun protection potential. The extract showed a concentration-dependent effect on keratinocyte viability, producing a decrease in the viability of the HaCaT cells with rising concentrations. While 25 µg/mL did not significantly reduce cell viability (12% reduction), concentrations of 50 and 100 µg/mL showed a more profound effect (23% and 27% reductions, respectively). In cells exposed to the extract alone, without H2O2, there was no significant change in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels compared to a non-treated control. Keratinocytes pre-incubated with three different concentrations of peel extract (25, 50, and 100 µg/mL) for 24 h before H2O2 exposure showed significantly decreased levels of ROS compared to ones treated with H2O2 alone. All three examined concentrations showed a similar decrease in ROS production. In the cell line treated with spray-dried peel extract without lipopolysaccharide (LPS), there was no significant change in the expression of interleukin 1β or macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF), indicating the absence of any pro-inflammatory effects from the extract. In the LPS-treated cells, the extract significantly reduced interleukin 1β and MIF expression when pre-incubated for 24 h compared to LPS alone, confirming the anti-inflammatory potential of the extract against an LPS challenge. Additionally, the extract provided a sun protection factor (SPF) of 11.33±0.33 (at a concentration of 100 µg/mL), and significantly lower SPF values, 3.11±0.05 and 5.97±0.21, at lower concentrations (25 and 50 µg/mL, respectively), while an SPF of 6 is generally considered the minimum degree of UVB protection required for sunscreen products. 2025-04-23T13:29:31.472Z 44 yes 46 Aleksandra A. Jovanović University of Belgrade, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, Serbia doktor tehnoloških nauka 0000-0001-5394-0125 Andrea Pirković University of Belgrade, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, Serbia doktor bioloških nauka person 0000-0002-1182-4895 Nada Cujic-Nikolic Institute for Medicinal Plant Research “Dr Josif Pančić”, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia person Jelena Zivkovic Institute for Medicinal Plant Research “Dr Josif Pančić”, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia person Katarina Šavikin Institute for Medicinal Plant Research “Dr Josif Pančić”, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia person application/pdf 1841036 https://phaidrabg.bg.ac.rs/o:36138 no yes 16 70 92000004 11A29 Cytotoxicity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and sun protection potential of spray-dried Punica granatum peel extract 110 110 Book of Abstracts of the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Antioxidants Basel, Switzerland MDPI 2025