Ellagic Acid from Pomegranate Peel Attenuates Fibrosis and Remodels Water Distribution in Chicken Meat under Inflammatory Challenge

Pomegranate peel (PoP) contains various pharmacologically active compounds, but remains underutilized. This study investigated the efficacy of PoP and its active compounds in alleviating inflammation-induced deterioration of meat quality in broilers. As expected, PoP alleviated inflammation and improved chicken meat quality, as evidenced by lower shear force and cooking losses. Through UPLC-MS, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vivo validation, ellagic acid (EA) was identified as the key anti-inflammatory compound in PoP that improves meat quality. Beneficially, EA from PoP improved water distribution by increasing immobilized water and decreasing free water in chicken meat and attenuated muscular fibrosis by modulating the TGFβ/Smad signaling pathway. Ultimately, EA supplementation increased redness (a*) and decreased lightness (L*) and drip loss in the muscles of broilers challenged with inflammation. This study demonstrates that EA derived from PoP attenuates fibrosis and decreases free water content in the muscles of broilers under immunological stress.