Pomegranate: An ancient fruit for health and nutrition

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an important fruit crop of arid and semiarid regions of the world. Pomegranate is considered to be a symbol of abundance and prosperity. The Hindi phrase, “Ek anar sou bhimar”, highlights the importance of this ancient fruit crop in modern medicine for curing several diseases. In India, it is cultivated over 2.62 lakh ha with an annual production of 30.30 lakh tonnes and productivity of 11.58 ton/ha during 2018–19. It has enormous nutritional value due to its rich content of anthocyanins, vitamins and minerals. It has immense medicinal value due to its healing property over numerous disorders and diseases that affects mankind, right from abdominal disorders (dysentery, diarrhoea), dermal defects (skin blemishes), cancer, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Owing to its immense nutritional and medicinal values, pomegranate is regarded as ‘a treasure of health and nutrition’. The paper attempts to highlight the importance of pomegranate in the arena of human health and nutrition.