The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition, minerals and antioxidants of heart of date palm from three Saudi cultivars. Moisture (ranged from 80.44% - 82.82%) was the predominant component in the heart date palm. Sukkari cultivar had the highest protein (5.27%) and ash (7.9%) compared to the other two cultivars. Fat was low in the three cultivars. Sucrose was the predominant sugar in the heart date palm and ranged from 7.65% - 20.25%. Potassium was the predominant mineral in the heart date palm and was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in Sukkari and Solleg compared to the Naboat Saif cultivar. Sulfur and chloride were next to potassium in abundance in the three heart date palm cultivars. Total phenols and flavonoids were higher in Solleg compared to the other two cultivars. IC 50 for Solleg, Sukkari and Naboat Saif were 0.12, 0.13 and 0.29 mg/ml, respectively. The results of the present study may highlight the potential importance of heart of date palm as a product rich in essential minerals and antioxidants. Future researches are needed to explore other characteristics of heart of date palm which could be considered for human nutrition.
KeywordsHeart of Date PalmCompositionMineralsAntioxidants
Johnson, D.V. (2012) Enhancement of Date Palm as a Source of Multiple Products: Examples from Other Industrialized Palms. Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, 24, 408-414.
Saleh, E.A., Tawfik, M.S. and Abu-Tarboush, H.M. (2011) Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Activity of Various Date Palm (phoenix dactylifera L.) Fruits from Saudi Arabia. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2, 1134-1141. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/fns.2011.210152
Al-Khalifa, N.S. (2012) First Arab Palm Conference on the Development of Date Palm and Dates Sector in the Arab World. Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, 21, Convener Note.
Al-Farsi, M.A., Alasalvar, C., Al-Abid, M., Al-Shoaily, K., Al-Amry, M. and Al-Rawahy, F. (2007) Compositional and Functional Characteristics of Dates Syrups and Their By-Products. Food Chemistry, 104, 943-947. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.12.051
Al-Shoaibi, Z., Al-Mamary, M.A., Al-Habori, M.A., Al-Zubairi, A.S. and Abdelwahab, S.I. (2012) In Vitro Antioxidative and Hepatoprotective Effects of Palm Date Fruits (Phoenix doctylifera). International Journal of Pharmacology, 8, 185-191.
Benmeddour, Z., Mehinagic, E., Meurlay, D.L. and Louaileche, H. (2013) Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Capacities of Ten Algerian Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Cultivars: A Comparative Study. Journal of Functional Foods, 5, 346-354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2012.11.005
Soto, G., Luna-Orea, P., Wagga, M.G., Smyth, T.J. and Alvarado, A. (2005) Foliage Residue Decomposition and Nutrient Release in Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) Plantations for Heart-of-Palm Production in Costa Rica. Agronomy Journal, 97, 1396-1402. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj2004.0250
Tabora, P.C., Balick Jr., M.J., Bovi, M.L.A. and Guerra, M.P. (1993) Hearts of Palm (Bactris euterpe and Others). In: Williams, J.T., Ed., Pulses and Vegetables, Chapman and Hall, London, 193-218.
Pollak, H., Mattos, M. and Uhl, C. (1995) A Profile of Palm Heart Extraction in the Amazon Estuary. Human Ecology, 23, 357-385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01190137
Shimizu, M.M., Melo, G.A., Santos, A.B.D., Botcher, A., Casarino, I., Araujo, P., Moura, J.C.M.S. and Mazzafera, P. (2011) Enzyme Chatacterization, Isolation and cDNA Cloning of Polyphenol Oxidase in the Hearts of Palm of Three Commercially Important Species. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 49, 970-977. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2011.04.006
Movahed, A., Mohammadi, M.M., Akbarzadeh, S., Nabipour, I., Ramezanian, N. and Hajian, N. (2012) The Heart of Date Palm: Its Nutritional and Functional Constituents. Iranian South Medical Journal, 2, 100-105.
AOAC (2005) Official Methods of Analysis. 18th Edition, Association Official Analytical Chemists, Gaitherburg.
Xu, B.J. and Chang, S.K.C. (2007) A Comparative Study on Phenolic Profiles and Antioxidant Activities of Legumes as Affected by Extraction Solvents. Journal of Food Science, 72, S159-S166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00260.x
Simas, D.K.N., Vieira, L.D.N., Podesta, R., Vierira, M.A., Rockenbach, I.I., Petkowicz, C.L.O., Medeiros, J.D.D., Francisco, A.D., Amante, E.R. and Ambani, R.D.M.C. (2010) Microstructure, Nutrient Composition and Antioxidant Capacity of King Palm Flour: A New Potential Source of Dietary Fiber. Bioresource Technology, 101, 5701-5707. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.02.053
Leterme, P., Buldgen, A., Estroda, F. and Landoňo, A.M. (2006) Mineral Content of Tropical Fruits and Unconvential Foods of the Andes and the Rain Forest of Colombia. Food Chemistry, 95, 644-652. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.02.003
Mälkki, Y. (2001) Physical Properties of Dietary Fiber as Keys to Physiological Functions. Cereal Foods World, 46, 196-199.
Groff, J.L., Gropper, S.S. and Hunt, S.M. (2002) Macrominerals (Chap. 11), Microminerals (Chap. 12). In: Groff, J.L., Ed., Advance Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 2nd Edition, West Publishing Company, New York, 320.
Kieliszek, M. and Blazejak, S. (2013) Selenium: Significance and Outlook for Supplementation. Nutrition, 29, 713-718. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2012.11.012
Vieira, P.A.F., Gontijo, D.C., Assunçäo, D.L.S., Leite, J.P.V., Oliveira, M.G.D.A., Kasuya, M.C.M., et al. (2013) Anti-oxidant Activities, Total Phenolics and Metal Content in pleurotus ostreatus Mushrooms Enriched with Iron, Zinc or Lithium. LWT, Food Science and Technology, 54, 421-425. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2013.06.016
Damodaran, D., Shatty, K.V. and Mohan, B.R. (2013) Effect of Chelaters on Bioaccumulation of Cd (II), Cu (II), Cr (VI), Ph (II) and Zn (II) in Galerina vittiformis from Soil. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 85, 182-188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2013.05.031
Aldjain, I.M., Al-Whaibi, M.H., Al-Showiman, S.S. and Siddiqui, M.H. (2011) Determination of Heavy Metals in the Fruit of Date Palm Growing at Different Location of Riyadh. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 18, 175-180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2010.12.001
Al-Farsi, M.A. and Lee, C.Y. (2008) Optimization of Phenolics and Dietary Fiber Extraction from Date Seeds. Food Chemistry, 108, 977-985. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.12.009
Heim, K.E., Taglieferro, A.R. and Bobilya, D.J. (2002) Flavonoid Antioxidants: Chemistry, Metabolism and Structure-Activity Relationships. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 13, 572-584. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0955-2863(02)00208-5
Hagerman, A.E., Riedal, K.M., Jones, G.A., Sovik, K.N., Hartzfeld, P.W. and Riechel, T.L. (1998) High Molecular Weight Plant Phenolics (Tannins) as Biological Antioxidants. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 46, 1887-1892. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf970975b
Kang, J., Thakali, K.M., Xie, C., Kondo, M., Tong, Y., Ou, B., Hensen, G., Madina, M.B., Schauss, A.G. and Wu, X. (2012) Bioactivities of Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) Fruit Pulp, Superior to Euterpe oleracea Mart. Food Chemistry, 123, 671-677. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.01.048
Biglari, F., Al-Karkhi, A.F.M. and Easa, A.M. (2008) Antioxidant Activity and Phenolic Content of Various Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) Fruits from Iran. Food Chemistry, 107, 1636-1641. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.10.033
Sultana, B., Anwar, F. and Przybylski, R. (2007) Antioxidant Activity of Phenolic Components Present in Bakers of Azadirachta indica, Terminalia arjuna, Acacia nilotica and Eugenia jambolana Lam. Trees. Food Chemistry, 104, 1106-1114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.01.019
Mansouri, A., Embarek, G., Kokkalou, E. and Kefalas, P. (2005) Phenolic Profile and Antioxidant Activity of the Algerian Ripe Date Palm Fruit (Phoenix dactyfera). Food Chemistry, 89, 411-420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2004.02.051
Lim, Y.Y., Lim, T.T. and Tee, J.J. (2007) Antioxidant Properties of Several Tropical Fruits: A Comparative Study. Food Chemistry, 103, 1003-1008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.08.038
El-Agbar, Z.A., Shakya, A.K., Khalaf, N.A. and Al-Faroon, M. (2008) Comparative Antioxidant Activity of Some Edible Plant. Turkish Journal of Biology, 32, 193-196.