Date Processing & Packaging Industry

Health benefits of dates

Wonderfully delicious, dates are one of the most popular fruits packed with an impressive list of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are required for normal growth, development and overall well-being.

Fresh dates compose of soft, easily digestible flesh and simple sugars like fructose and dextrose. When eaten, they replenish energy and revitalize the body instantly. For these qualities, they are being used to break the fast during Ramadan month since ancient times.

The fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which prevents LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut. Additionally, the fiber works as a bulk laxative. It, thus, helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon.

They contain health benefiting flavonoid polyphenolic antioxidants known as tannins. Tannins are known to possess anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic (prevent easy bleeding tendencies) properties.

They are moderate sources of vitamin-A (contains 149 IU per 100 g), which is known to have antioxidant properties and essential for vision. Additionally, it is also required maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin A is known to help to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

They compose antioxidant flavonoids such as ß-carotene, lutein, and zea-xanthin. These antioxidants found to have the ability to protect cells and other structures in the body from harmful effects of oxygen-free radicals. Thus, eating dates found to offer some protection from colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
Zea-xanthin is an important dietary carotenoid that selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea, where it thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. It thus offers protection against age-related macular degeneration, especially in elderly populations.

Dates are an excellent source of iron, contains 0.90 mg/100 g of fruits (about 11% of RDI). Iron, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Further, they are very good in potassium. 100 g contains 696 mg or 16% of daily-recommended levels of this electrolyte. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help controlling heart rate and blood pressure. They, thus, offers protection against stroke and coronary heart diseases.

They are also rich in minerals like calcium, manganese, copper, and magnesium. Calcium is an important mineral that is an essential constituent of bone and teeth, and required by the body for muscle contraction, blood clotting, and nerve impulse conduction. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required for the production of red blood cells. Magnesium is essential for bone growth.

Further, the fruit has adequate levels of B-complex group of vitamins as well as vitamin K. It contains very good amounts of pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), niacin, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin. These vitamins are acting as cofactors help body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Vitamin K is essential for many coagulant factors in the blood as well as in bone metabolism.

The date (
Phoenix dactylifera
L.), a high-energy fruit, is regarded as a popular food commodityfor thousands of years in Iran, the persian Gulf peninsula and its neighboring region. The aim of present study is to characterize the biochemical and nutritional values of constituents of the Egyptian datefruits. Date palm fruits contain a variety of B-complex vitamins B1, B2, Nicotinic acid and vitamin A.the date palm extracts contains 13.80 % moisture and 86.50 % total solid. Ash and Crud fibers contentswere 2.13 and 5.20 respectively. Protein, carbohydrates and lipids contents were 3.00%, 73.00% and 2.90% respectively. The low level of lipids content 2.90% compared with its content of sugars means that,the date palm is save to heart and blood patients because its containing a very low level of fatty acidsand cholesterol. HPLC analysis of sugars content showed that, the carbohydrate content consists of a largeamount of glucose, fructose and sucrose, The protein pattern on SDS-PAGE showed that, most of proteinsin the date palm are a high molecular weight proteins between 80 and 135 KD and contained a minimumlevels of the LMW proteins less than 55 KD. Date Palm contained high concentration of Aspartic acid,Proline, Glycine, Histidine, Valine, Leucine and Arginine, but low concentration of Threonine, Serine,Methionine, Isoleucine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine and Lysine and very low concentration of Alanine. Thedate palm fruits provide unique functional and nutritional values. Numerous health benefits beyond itsnutritional value have been associated with consuming date palm fruits to enrich nutrition values of different kinds of food.