II International Symposium on the Pomegranate (Options méditerranéennes, série A 2012, n° 103) Options méditerranéennes SERIES A : Mediterranean seminars Series, Vol. 103

These Proceedings include 63 scientific papers presented at the II International Symposium on the Pomegranate, held in Madrid (Spain) from 19 to 21 October 2011. Production and commerce of pomegranate and its derived products have experienced significant growth everywhere in the world. Progress has been made in cultivation techniques and some traditional problems have been solved, although new problems such as Xanthomonas axonopodis attacks constitute a present threat. New public and private institutions in different countries are working to improve the production and quality of the pomegranate, and new varieties are being commercialized. The cultivar is a determining factor in issues related to nutritional composition and bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity. At the same time, significant advances in postharvest technologies have been made in the past years, specially focused on the use of technologies with natural compounds of great efficiency in maintaining the quality and safety of pomegranate fruit during prolonged storage periods. Special importance is attached to the advance in the industrialization processes through the technologies for processing ready-to-eat arils. In the past years, new protocols for quality evaluation using sensory analysis have been developed. With respect to the relationship between pomegranate and health, recent clinical studies report that pomegranate juice or extract can reduce the progression of prostate cancer, although more studies are needed to confirm these experimental results.