The present study aimed to estimate the individual and total phenols and antioxidant activity of the aqueous and alcoholic extracts of three premium quality date varieties (Khalas, Sukkari and Ajwa) from Saudi Arabia. In general, water extract has shown significantly higher contents of total phenols than alcoholic, especially in Ajwa (455.88 and 245.66 mg/100 g respectively). However, phenolic profile indicated that Sukkari contained the highest rutin concentration (8.10 mg/kg), whereas, catechin was approximately the same in Sukkari and Ajwa (7.50 and 7.30 mg/kg respectively). Khalas was the highest variety content of caffeic acid (7.40 mg/kg). A significant difference has indicated among extracts and varieties in suppressing lipid peroxidation. Sukkari and Ajwa have reduced the oxidation with 50% at lower concentration in water extract than alcoholic (0.63, 0.70 and 1.60, 1.43 mg/ml respectively). Furthermore, high positive linear correlation was found between total phenols in water (r = 0.96) and alcohol (r = 0.85) extracts and inhibition of lipid oxidation activity. The compounds responsible for the activity were catechin (r = 0.96), and rutin (r = 0.74) in water extract, whereas this correlation decreased in alcoholic extract (r = 0.66) for catechin and very weak (r = 0.38) for rutin. No correlation was found between caffeic acid and lipid peroxidation in both extracts. Similar significant results were obtained with DPPH test, except with Sukari, which has shown no difference between aqueous and alcoholic extracts (4.30, 4.10 mg/ml respectively).
E. B. Rimm, A. Ascherio, E. Giovannucci, D. Spiegelman, M. J. Stampfer and W. C. Willett, “Vegetable, Fruit, and Cereal Fiber Intake and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease among Men,” Journal of American Medical Association, Vol. 275, No. 6, 1996, pp. 447-451. doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03530300031036
R. Blomhoff, “Dietary Antioxidants and Cardiovascular Disease,” Current Opinion in Lipidology, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2005, pp. 47-54. doi:10.1097/00041433-200502000-00009
G. Block, B. Patterson and A. Subar, “A Fruit, Vegetables, and Cancer Prevention: A Review of the Epidemiological Evidence,” Nutrition and Cancer, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1992, pp. 1-29. doi:10.1080/01635589209514201
M. S. Donaldson, “Nutrition and Cancer Diet: A Review of the Evidence for an Anti-Cancer Diet,” Nutrition Journal, Vol. 3, No. 20, 2004, pp. 19-40. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-3-19
D. A. Cooper, “Carotenoids in Health and Disease: Recent Scientific Evaluations, Research Recommendations and the Consumer,” The Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 134, No. 1, 2004, pp. 221S-224S.
World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO), “A Report of Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases,” Technical Report Series No. 916, Geneva, 2003.
W. Erskine, T. Moustafa and A. E. Osman, “Date Palm in the GCC Countries of the Arabian Peninsula,” 2006. http://www.icarda.org/APRP/Datepalm/introductio/intro-body.htm
M. G. L. Hertog, E. J. M. Feskens, P. C. H. Hollman, M. B. Katan and D. Kromhout, “Dietary Antioxidant Flavonoids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease the Zutphen Elderly Study,” Lancet, Vol. 342, No. 8878, 1993, pp. 1007-1011. doi:10.1016/0140-6736(93)92876-U
M. G. L. Hertog, D. Kromhout, C. Aravanis, H. Blackburn, R. Buzina, F. Fidanza, S. Giampaoli, A. Jansen, A. Menotti, S. Nedeljkovic, M. Pekkarinen, B. S. Simic, H. Toshima, E. J. M. Feskens, P. C. H. Hollman and M. B. Katan, “Flavonoid Intake and Long-Term Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Cancer in the Seven Countries Study,” Archive International Medicine, Vol. 155, No. 5, 1995, pp. 381-386. doi:10.1001/archinte.1995.00430040053006
W. N. Sawaya, W. M. Safi, L. T. Black, A. S. Mashadi and M. M. Al-Muhammad, “Physical and Chemical Characterization of the Major Date Varieties Grown in Saudi Arabia II. Sugars, Tannins, Vitamins A and C,” Date Palm Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1983, pp. 183-196.
X. Wu, G. R. Beecher, J. M. Holden, D. B. Haytowttz, S. E. Gebharadt and R. L. Prior, “Lipophilic and Hydrophilic Antioxidant Capacities of Common Foods in the United States,” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, Vol. 52, No. 12, 2004, pp. 4026-4037. doi:10.1021/jf049696w
A. Mansouri, G. Embarek, E. Kokkalou and P. Kefalas, “Phenolic Profile and Antioxidant Activity of the Algerian Ripe Date Palm Fruit (Phoenix dactylifera),” Food Chemistry, Vol. 89, No. 3, 2005, pp. 411-420. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2004.02.051
M. Al-Farsi, C. Alasalvar, A. Morris, M. Baron and F. Shahidi, “Comparison of Antioxidant Activity, Anthocyanins, Carotenoids, and Phenolics of Three Native Fresh and Sun-Dried Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Varieties Grown in Oman,” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, Vol. 53, No. 11, 2005, pp. 7592-7599. doi:10.1021/jf050579q
C. Guo, J. Yang, J. Wei, Y. Li, J. Xu and Y. Jiang, “Antioxidant Activities of Peel, Pulp and Seed Fractions of Common Fruits as Determined by FRAP Assay,” Nutrition Research, Vol. 23, No. 12, 2003, pp. 1719-1726. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2003.08.005
M. J. Abdel Hafiz, A. F. Shalabi and S. Y. Risk, “Chemical Composition of 15 Varieties of Dates Grown in Saudi Arabia,” Proceedings of Saudi Biological Society, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1980, pp. 180-194.
W. H. Barreveld, “Date Palm Products,” Bulletin No. 101, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1993.
I. Booij, G. Piombo, J. M. Risterucci, M. Coupe, D. Thomas and M. Ferry, “Study of Chemical Composition of Dates at Different Stages of Maturity for Varietals Characterization of Different Cultivars of Dates,” Fruit-Paris, Vol. 47, No. 6, 1992, pp. 667-678.
R. M. Myhara, J. Karkalas and M. S. Taylor, “The Composition of Maturing Omani Dates,” Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Vol. 79, No. 11, 1999, pp. 1345-1350. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0010(199908)79:11 3.0.CO;2-V
W. N. Sawaya, H. A. Khatchadourian, J. K. Khalil, W. M. Safi and A. Al-shalhat, “Growth and Compositional Changes during the Various Developmental Stages of Some Saudi Arabian Date Cultivars,” Journal of Food Science, Vol. 47, No. 5, 1982, pp. 1489-1492. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1982.tb04967.x
G. F. Sourial, A. S. Khalifa, S. I. Gaafar, A. A. Tewfik and I. A. Mousa, “Evaluation of Some Selected Date Cultivars Grown in Sharkiya Vine. Egypt. 2. Chemical Composition,” Proceeding of the Second Symposium of the Date Palm in Saudi Arabia, Al-Ahsa, 1986, pp. 141-152.
P. K. Vayalil, “Antioxidant and Antimutagenic Properties of Aqueous Extract of Date Fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L. Arecaceae),” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2002, pp. 610-617. doi:10.1021/jf010716t
J. A. Vinson, L. Zubic, P. Bose, N. Samman and J. Proch, “Dried Fruits: Excellent in Vitro and in Vivo Antioxidants,” Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2005, pp. 44-50.
F. Shahidi, “Natural Antioxidants Chemistry, Health Effects, and Applications,” AOCS Press, Urbana, 1997.
E. M. Silva, J. N. S. Souza, H. Rogez, J. F. Rees and Y. Larondelle, “Antioxidant Activities and Polyphenolic Contents of Fifteen Selected Plant Species from the Amazonian Region,” Food Chemistry, Vol. 101, No. 3, 2007, pp. 1012-1018. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.02.055
M. Al-Farsi, C. Alasalvar, M. Al-Abid, K. Al-Shoaily, M. Al-Army and F. Al-Rawahy, “Compositional and Functional Characteristics of Dates, Syrups and Their By-Products,” Food Chemistry, Vol. 104, No. 3, 2007, pp. 943-947. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.12.051
FAO Date Palm Production Chapters 1 & 2, 2004. http:www.FAO.org on 2007/05/24
R. P. Singh, C. K. N. Murthy and G. K. Jayaprakasha, “Studies on the Antioxidant Activity of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Peel and Seed Extracts Using in Vitro Models,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 50, No. 1, 2002, pp. 81-86. doi:10.1021/jf010865b
P. S. Negi, G. K. Jayaprakasha and B. S. Jena, “Antioxidant and Antimutagenic Activities of Pomegranate Peel Extracts,” Food Chemistry, Vol. 80, No. 3, 2003, pp. 393-397. doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(02)00279-0
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC), “Official Methods of Analysis,” 16th Edition, AOAC International, Washington DC, 1995.
G. Lunn, “HPLC Methods for Pharmaceutical Analysis,” Interscience Publication, New York, 2000.
M. Garcia-Alonso, S. de Pascual-Teresa, C. Santos-Buelga and J. C. Rivas-Gonzalo, “Evaluation of the Antioxidant Properties of Fruits,” Food Chemistry, Vol. 84, No. 1, 2004, pp. 13-18. doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(03)00160-2
W. Brand-Williams, M. E. Cuvelier and C. Berset, “Use of a Free Radical Method to Evaluate Antioxidant Activity,” Lebensmittel-Wissenchaft und-Technologie, Vol. 30, No. 1-3, 1994, pp. 609-615.
G. Beretta, P. Granata, M. Ferrero, M. Orioli and R. M. Facino, “Standardization of Antioxidant Properties of Honey by a Combination of Spectrophotometric/Fluorimetric Assays and Chemometrics,” Analytica Chimica Acta, Vol. 533, No. 2, 2005, pp. 185-191. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2004.11.010
C. Regnault-Roger, R. Hadidane, J. F. Biard and K. Boukef, “High Performance Liquid and Thin-Layer Chromatography Determination of Phenolic Acids in Palm (Phoenix dacylifera),” Food Chemistry, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1987, pp. 61-71. doi:10.1016/0308-8146(87)90054-9
V. L. Singleton, R. Orthofer and R. M. Lamuela-Raventos, “Analysis of Total Phenols and Other Oxidation Substrates and Antioxidants by Means of Folin-Ciocalteu Reagent,” Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 299, 1999, pp. 152-178. doi:10.1016/S0076-6879(99)99017-1
A. Scalbert and G. Williamson, “Dietary Intake and Bioavailability of Polyphenols,” Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 130, No. 8, 2000, pp. 2073S-2085S.
N. Gheldof and N. J. Engeseth, “Antioxidant Capacity of Honeys from Various Floral Sources Based on the Determination of Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and Inhibition of in Vitro Lipoprotein Oxidation in Human Serum Samples,” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, Vol. 50, No. 10, 2002, pp. 3050-3055. doi:10.1021/jf0114637
N. M. A. Hassimotto, M. I. Genovese and F. M. Lajolo, “Antioxidant Activity of Dietary Fruits, Vegetables, and Commercial Frozen Fruits Pulps,” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, Vol. 53, No. 8, 2005, pp. 2928-2935. doi:10.1021/jf047894h
R. Tsao, R. Yang, S. Xie, E. Scokovie and S. Khanizadeh, “Which Polyphenolic Compounds Contribute to the Total Antioxidant Activities of Apple?” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, Vol. 53, No. 12, 2005, pp. 4989-4995. doi:10.1021/jf048289h
N. Caturla, E. Vera-Samper, J. Villalaín, C. R. Mateo and V. Micol, “The Relationship between the Antioxidant and the Antibacterial Properties of Galloylated Catechins and the Structure of Phospholipid Model Membranes,” Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Vol. 34, No. 6, 2003, pp. 648-662. doi:10.1016/S0891-5849(02)01366-7
S. V. Verstraeten, C. L. Keen, H. H. Schmitz, C. E. G. Fraga and P. I. Oteiza, “Flavan-3-Ols and Procyanidins Protect Liposomes against Lipid Oxidation and Disruption of the Bilayer Structure,” Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2003, pp. 84-92. doi:10.1016/S0891-5849(02)01185-1
I. B. Afanas’ev, A. I. Dcrozhko, A. V. Brodskii, V. A. Kostyuk and A. I. Potapovitch, “Chelating and Free Radical Scavenging Mechanisms of Inhibitory Action of Rutin and Quercetin in Lipid Peroxidation,” Biochemical Pharmacology, Vol. 38, No. 11, 1989, pp. 1763-1769. doi:10.1016/0006-2952(89)90410-3
S. B. Lotito and B. Fre, “Relevance of Apple Polyphenols as Antioxidants in Human Plasma: Contrasting in Vitro and in Vivo Effects,” Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2004, pp. 201-211.
M. R. Al-Obid, “Date Skin as a Source of Antioxidant Activity and Free Radical Scavenging,” First International Meeting of Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera L., Qassim, 2003, pp. 643-658.
B. Halliwell and J. M. C. Gutteridge, “Role of Free Radicals and Catalytic Metal Ions in Human Disease: An Overview,” Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 186, 1990, pp. 1-85. doi:10.1016/0076-6879(90)86093-B