Date Palm Seeds
Date Palm
Phoenix dactylifera L.
Date palm seeds are abundant palm date by-products with approximately 5 million tons of date pits being discarded every year in the MENA (the Middle East/North Africa) region. However, the generated date palm seeds are still largely underestimated by farmers and industries, although their established health benefits related to their rich composition, that could be applied in many fields including food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and dietary supplements.
Deglet Nour date seeds
| Percentage (%) | |
| Proteins | 5.51 ± 0.01 |
| Fat | 7.4 ± 0.05 |
| Sugars | 2.68 ± 0.02 |
| Moisture | 23.55 ± 0.22 |
| Dietary fibres | 78.4 ± 0.27 |
| Minerals | mg/kg |
| Calcium | 1,472.06 ± 244.23 |
| Magnesium | 780.22 ± 103.40 |
| Phosphorus | 1,656.64 ± 335.07 |
| Potassium | 3,585.23 ± 203.68 |
| Fatty acids | % |
| Oleic (C18:1) | 47.63 ± 0.09 |
| Lauric (C12:0) | 17.64 ± 0.08 |
| Linoleic (C18:2) | 10.95 ± 0.01 |
| Vitamins | |
| Ascorbic acid | 0.56- 0.81 mg Acid Ascorbic/g DW |
| Tocopherols | 0.93 μg/ 100 g |
Date palm seeds are rich in polyphenols reaching 7.14 g GAE/100g DW. Flavonoids are also present in this by-product, reaching 2.31 g CAE/100g DW, especially flavanols (e.g., catechin) and flavonols (e.g., quercetin, isorhamnetin). Phenolic acids such as syringic, gallic, and salicylic are among the main hydroxybenzoic acids in date palm seeds. Other bioactive compounds that can be found are condensed tannins and carotenoids, where the first ones confer the astringence property and the latter are responsible for the major health benefits like antioxidant capacity, and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
Phenolic composition (through HPLC analysis)
| Phenolic acids | Gallic acid | 57.50 mg/100g |
| Syringic acid | 73.17 mg/100g | |
| Salicylic acid | 7.835 mg/ 100 g | |
| Ferulic acid | 7.676 mg/ 100 g | |
| Protocatechuic acid | 6.672 mg/ 100 g | |
| Caffeic acid | 31.53 ± 4.20 mg/ 100 g | |
| Flavonoids | Isorhamnetin | 41.91 mg/100g |
| Quercetin | 107.03 mg/100g | |
| Kaempferol | 18.65 ± 13.56 mg/100g | |
| Catechin | 324.39 mg/100g | |
| Epicatechin | 0.19-1.51 mg/100g |
Source: Babiker et al. (2020)
Date palm seeds have proved their medicinal effect over the years, for instance, the date seed oil is used as a chemoprotective agent against H2O2 damage and UV-B exposure. It also increases sperm count, motility, and viability in male mice treated with testicular peroxidation. On the other hand, date seed extract possesses a potential protective effect against diabetic complications in liver and kidney tissues and reduces LDL cholesterol levels, which highlights its antidiabetic and cardiovascular prevention properties.
