Physicochemical Properties of Seeds and Seeds Oil Extracted from Iranian Date Palm Cultivars

Author: Najme Soleimani Dehdivan* and Bahman Panahi**

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Abstract

In the present study, the seeds of two date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars, Mazafati (Jiroft & Bam) and Kalutah were analyzed for their physical properties and chemical composition. Studies were also conducted on properties of oil extracted from the seeds and its fatty acid composition. The seeds constitute about 6-10% of the fruit weight. The seeds weight ranged from 0.73-0.84g, the length from 19.4-21.0mm, and the diameter from7.3-8.5mm. They, on the average, contained 4.84% protein, 12.22% fat, 27.58% fiber, 80.76% carbohydrates, 1.18% ash, and 1.72% moisture. Mineral analysis showed higher concentration of Fe followed by Ca, Cu, Na, Zn, and Mn. The seeds were also a rich source of phenolics, which ranged from 1840.93 to 1952.93mg GAE/100g. The date seed oils were a yellow semi-liquid having refractive index of 1.459. The average chemical characteristics of the date seed oils were: iodine value 55.153g/100g oil, saponification value 228.067mg KOH/g oil, and peroxide value 1

Keywords

Arecaceae, date palm, Kalutah, Mazafati, Phoenix dactylifera L., seed oil.

Conclusion

In the present study, the seeds of two date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars, Mazafati (Jiroft & Bam) and Kalutah were analyzed for their physical properties and chemical composition. Studies were also conducted on properties of oil extracted from the seeds and its fatty acid composition. The seeds constitute about 6-10% of the fruit weight. The seeds weight ranged from 0.73-0.84g, the length from 19.4-21.0mm, and the diameter from7.3-8.5mm. They, on the average, contained 4.84% protein, 12.22% fat, 27.58% fiber, 80.76% carbohydrates, 1.18% ash, and 1.72% moisture. Mineral analysis showed higher concentration of Fe followed by Ca, Cu, Na, Zn, and Mn. The seeds were also a rich source of phenolics, which ranged from 1840.93 to 1952.93mg GAE/100g. The date seed oils were a yellow semi-liquid having refractive index of 1.459. The average chemical characteristics of the date seed oils were: iodine value 55.153g/100g oil, saponification value 228.067mg KOH/g oil, and peroxide value 1

References

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) grows in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world especially in most of the Middle Eastern countries. It has played an effective role in survival of many old civilizations. As a valuable nutrient, the date palm dated back to 6000 BC (Dowson, 1982). Dates have also an important role in economics of the date producing countries (Gurevich et al, 2005). Iran is one of the main date producing countries with the annual production of about 1 million tons of date and 100000-150000 tons exportation. Date fruit composed of a seed with a hard endocarp and a thin epicarp which constitutes 10-46% of date fruit weight (Sotolu et al, 2011). The seeds are oblong with an abdominal groove, a small embryo and a hard endosperm placed inside a cellulose wall (Al-Farsi and Lee, 2011). Date seeds are odorless with a dark brown color and bitter taste (Hamada et al, 2002). Recent studies show that date seed contains 77.52% carbohydrate (Besbes et al, 2004; Nehdi et al,

How to cite this article

Najme Soleimani Dehdivan and Bahman Panahi (2016). Physicochemical Properties of Seeds and Seeds Oil Extracted from Iranian Date Palm Cultivars , Biological Forum – An International Journal 9(1): 139-144.