Date Palm Tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.): Natural Products and Therapeutic Options - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

Date Palm Tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.): Natural Products and Therapeutic Options

Reem A Al-Alawi et al. Front Plant Sci. 2017.

Abstract

Many plants, including some of the commonly consumed herbs and spices in our daily food, can be safely and effectively used to prevent and/or treat some health concerns. For example, caffeine the active ingredient found in coffee beans (Coffea), shows biological activity in the treatment of the central nervous system (CNS) disorders, indole-3-carbinol, and 3,3'-diindolylmethane are both broccoli (Brassica oleracea) derived phytochemicals with potential anti-cancer activity, and resveratrol, isolated from grape (Vitis vinifera), is reported to extend lifespan and provide cardio-neuro-protective, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer effects. Date palm fruits possess high nutritional and therapeutic value with significant antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-proliferative properties. This review focuses on the date fruit extracts and their benefits in individual health promoting conditions and highlights their applications as useful to the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries in the development of natural compound-based industrial products.

Keywords: Arecaceae; Phoenix dactylifera L.; antioxidant; cancer; date fruit; palm tree.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Date production by the top twenty date fruits producing countries (in metric tons).

Figure 2

Figure 2

World map of the top ten date fruit producing countries in 2014.

Figure 3

Figure 3

The five growth stages of a date fruit by days post pollination (DPP) (Al-Mssallem et al., 2013).

Figure 4

Figure 4

Chemical structures of carotenoids identified in date fruits.

Figure 5

Figure 5

Chemical structures of phytoestrols and phytoestrogens isolated/identified in the fruit of date palm tree.

Figure 6

Figure 6

Chemical structures of phenolic acid compounds identified in date fruits.

Figure 7

Figure 7

Basic flavonoid skeleton and some flavonoids identified in date fruits.

Figure 8

Figure 8

Selected plant derived natural products with paramount health promoting activity.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Al-Farsi M., Alasalvar C., Morris A., Baron M., Shahidi F. (2005a). Comparison of antioxidant activity, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and phenolics of three native fresh and sun-dried date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties grown in Oman. J. Agric. Food Chem. 53, 7592–7599. 10.1021/jf050579q - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al-Farsi M., Alasalvar C., Morris A., Baron M., Shahidi F. (2005b). Compositional and sensory characteristics of three native sun-dried date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties grown in Oman. J. Agric. Food Chem. 53, 7586–7591. 10.1021/jf050578y - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al-Farsi M., Morris A., Baron M. (2007). Functional properties of Omani dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Acta Hortic. 736, 479–487. 10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.736.46 - DOI
    1. Al-Harrasi A., Rehman N. U., Hussain J., Khan A. L., Al-Rawahi A., Gilani S. A., et al. (2014). Nutritional assessment and antioxidant analysis of 22 date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) varieties growing in Sultanate of Oman. Asian Pac. J. Trop. Med. 7, S591–S598. 10.1016/s1995-7645(14)60294-7 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Allaith A. A. (2008). Antioxidant activity of Bahraini date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit of various cultivars. Int. J. Food Sci. Technol. 43, 1033–1040. 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2007.01558.x - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources