Although the Arasbaran region has one of the richest genetic reserves of pomegranate in the world, the scopes of this diversity still remains largely unknown. In this research, we collected 19 different pomegranate ecotypes from the Arasbaran region, and studied them in terms of important morphophysiological and biochemical traits, such as fruit diameter and weight, peel weight, juice content, polyphenol and flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activity. The results showed an extraordinary diversity between ecotypes in the evaluated traits. For instance, phenolic and flavonoid contents varied between 21.5–61.5 mgGAL/L and 6–12.5 mgQE/L, respectively. Highly significant differences among ecotypes were also noticeable in the antioxidant activity with the IC₅₀ ranging between 33.70 and 103.85 µg/mL. Our investigations showed that desirable traits in terms of human nutrition and industrial marketability are spread among different ecotypes, and therefore, one particular ecotype cannot be introduced as the superior one. However, here we present a new method to evaluate pomegranates according to important physiological and biochemical characteristics, facilitating the screening of pomegranates to select superior ecotypes. Our results, in addition to identifying and preserving unique pomegranate genetic resources, can play an important role in expanding breeding programs and sustainable production and cultivation of superior pomegranate cultivars.

尽管阿拉斯巴兰地区是世界上石榴遗传储备最丰富的地区之一，但这种多样性的范围仍然很大程度上未知。在这项研究中，我们收集了来自阿拉斯巴兰地区的19种不同的石榴生态型，并对它们的重要形态生理和生化性状进行了研究，如果实直径和重量、果皮重量、果汁含量、多酚和类黄酮含量以及抗氧化活性。结果显示，生态型之间的评估性状存在显着的多样性。例如，酚类和类黄酮含量分别在 21.5–61.5 mgGAL/L 和 6–12.5 mgQE/L 之间变化。生态型之间的抗氧化活性也存在显着差异，IC ₅₀范围在 33.70 至 103.85 µg/mL 之间。我们的调查表明，人类营养和工业适销性方面的理想性状在不同的生态类型中分布，因此，不能将一种特定的生态类型作为优越的生态类型引入。然而，我们在这里提出了一种根据重要的生理生化特征来评价石榴的新方法，有助于筛选石榴以选择优良的生态型。我们的研究结果除了鉴定和保存独特的石榴遗传资源外，还可以在扩大育种计划和优质石榴品种的可持续生产和种植方面发挥重要作用。