Potential of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) as natural antioxidant source and functional food for healthy diet

Sajjad Ahmad Siddiqi; Sadik Rahman; Muhammad Mumtaz Khan; Sikander Rafiq; Abrar Inayat; M Shahzad Khurram; T Seerangurayar; Farrukh Jamil

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141234

Potential of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) as natural antioxidant source and functional food for healthy diet

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Dec 15:748:141234. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141234. Epub 2020 Jul 30.

Authors

Sajjad Ahmad Siddiqi¹, Sadik Rahman², Muhammad Mumtaz Khan³, Sikander Rafiq⁴, Abrar Inayat⁵, M Shahzad Khurram⁶, T Seerangurayar⁷, Farrukh Jamil⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoud 123, Muscat, Oman; Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Al-khoud 123, Muscat, Oman.
² Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoud 123, Muscat, Oman.
³ Department of Crop Sciences, College of Agriculture and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Alkhoud 123, Muscat, Oman.
⁴ Department of Chemical, Polymer & Composite Material Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore KSK Campus, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Sustainable & Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore, Pakistan.
⁷ Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Al-khoud 123, Muscat, Oman; Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, Erode 638 401, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁸ Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore, Pakistan. Electronic address: fjamil@cuilahore.edu.pk.

PMID: 32798862
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141234

Abstract

Date fruit is well known for their taste and concentrated nutritional components. Present study investigated two Omani date varieties i.e., Umsellah and Khalas, related to their physical traits, antioxidant properties, carbohydrates and nutritional values. Results showed that total-phenolic in Umsellah were 62% higher compared to Khalas, i.e., 164.22 and 103.85 mg/100 g. Among antioxidants, gallic acid in both Umsellah and Khalas were 35.77 and 27.41 mg/ 100 g respectively. Caffeic and syringic acid resulted 50% greater in Umsellah compared to Khalas. The ρ-coumaric acid contents in Umsellah and Khalas were 24.94 and 21.69 mg/ 100 g respectively. Total sugar in Umsellah (51.37 g of glucose equivalent / 100 g of dates) was found higher compared to Khalas (44.78 g of glucose equivalent / 100 g of dates). Among nutrients, potassium (K) level is very high (> 450 mg/100 g) in both the varieties with optimum range of other nutrients. For dietary fibers, Umsellah (81.17 g/100 g) reported higher proportion than Khalas (67.35 g/100 g). Overall findings inferred that Umsellah contained greater amount of beneficial individual phenolic and sugar compounds for the nourishment of health than Khalas. Therefore, as high antioxidant and nourished with several nutritional components, Umsellah and Khalas can be well adopted as organic and medicinal diets and can be used for various by-products irrespective of their market value.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Date palm; Health benefits; Nutrients; Total sugar.

MeSH terms

Antioxidants
Diet, Healthy
Fruit
Functional Food
Phoeniceae*

Substances

Antioxidants