G.I. Oluwalajiki, Bolanle Otegbayo, B.A. Olunlade, O.A. Ajayi
The date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and its by-products, such as seeds, have both nutritional and medicinal value. However, date fruit and seeds have not been fully considered as potential functional food ingredients to develop foods with promising health benefits. This study aimed to provide a comparative analysis of the nutritional, phytochemical composition, sugar and antioxidant profiles of date fruit fractions: whole date fruits (WDF), date pulp- flesh (DPF), and date seed–Pits (DSP). Date fruits were oven-dried and separated into three different fractions, DSP, DPF and WDF, which were evaluated for proximate, phytochemical, mineral, and sugar profiles and antioxidant capacities by standard methods. Results showed that DSP had the highest protein content (5.42±0.02 g/100 g) and fat content (4.86±0.17 g/100 g), while WDF had the lowest protein (3.82±0.01 g/100 g) and fat (0.57±0.07 g/100 g) contents. DSP also had a very high crude fiber content (20.30±0.04 g/100 g) and low carbohydrate content (60.98±0.04 g/100 g) compared to DPF, which had the lowest crude fiber content (0.87±0.04 g/100 g) and higher carbohydrate content (87.13±0.04 g/100 g). Significant (P<0.05) differences were observed in the flavonoid, phenolic acid, tannin, and tocopherol contents, while the alkaloid contents of the WDF and DSP showed no significant difference. Sucrose, fructose, glucose, and galactose were the main sugars detected in all fractions. WDF had the highest sucrose content, while calcium levels did not differ significantly among the fractions. DSP demonstrated the strongest antioxidant potential, showing the highest total antioxidant capacity, strong DPPH, lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide scavenging activity at tested concentrations. These results showed that date seeds contain a wide range of phytochemicals and essential minerals such as potassium and calcium, along with notable free radical buffering effects. Hence, different fractions of date fruits can be utilized to enrich foods for both therapeutic and nutritional purposes.