Antioxidant properties and phenolic profiling by UPLC-QTOF-MS of Ajwah, Safawy and Sukkari cultivars of date palm

S.M Neamul Kabir Zihad,Shaikh Jamal Uddin,Nazifa Sifat,Farhana Lovely,Razina Rouf,Jamil A Shilpi,Bassem Yousef Sheikh,Ulf Göransson

doi:10.1016/j.bbrep.2021.100909

Abstract

Date palm (P. dactylifera) plays a vital role in ethnomedicinal practices in several parts of the world. There are over 2000 cultivars of date palm that differ in chemical composition and extent of bioactivity. The present study was undertaken to comparatively evaluate the antioxidant potential of three cultivars of date palm (Ajwah, Safawy and Sukkari) from Saudi Arabia and analyze their phenolic constituents in order to draw a rationale for their activity. Antioxidant activities of the date cultivars were evaluated by different quantitative methods including 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay, total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, total phenolic (TPC), flavonoid (TFC) and tannin content (TTC), while qualitative phenolic composition was determined using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadropole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS). All the three date extracts showed good DPPH radical scavenging (IC50 103–177 μg/mL) and hydroxyl radical scavenging (IC50 1.1–1.55 mg/mL) activity and total antioxidant capacity (IC50 87–192 μg/mL). The reducing power was also comparable to that of ascorbic acid, used as standard in above experiments. All the three samples contain significant amount of major antioxidant components (phenolic, flavonoid and tannin) that successfully correlates with the results of radical scavenging assays. UPLC-QTOF-MS revealed a total of 22 compounds in these date cultivars classified into common phenolics, flavonoids, sterols and phytoestrogens. Significant variation in the degree of antioxidant activity of these three date cultivars can be attributed to the difference in the content and composition of phenolic compounds.

Highlights

Fruits have been a major part of human diet since antiquity and it is considered very important and beneficial for health as they serve both as nutritional source and natural mean of health promotion [1]
We evaluated the free radical scavenging activity of the date palms by DPPH free radical scavenging assay
DPPH based free radical scavenging method is on of the most sensitive and easy way to examine the antioxidant activity of the natural products with the advantage of being unaffected by side reactions [44]

Summary

Introduction

Fruits have been a major part of human diet since antiquity and it is considered very important and beneficial for health as they serve both as nutritional source and natural mean of health promotion [1]. The fruit of Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as date palm, is a very popular fruit that grows in the arid regions with extreme envi ronmental conditions. At present around 2000 cultivars of date palm are grown all over the world [12]. Date palm plays an important social, environmental and economic role in these regions as principle financial and food source. The date fruits are a very good source of rapid energy and highly rich in nutrients [14]. Apart from the rich nutritional value, dates are used in ethnobotanical practices for a number of ailments including liver disorders, diabetes, constipation, diarrhea, asthma, bronchitis, respiratory disorders and headache [15]. The chemical composition of dates varies among different cultivars, soil condition, agronomic practices and ripening stages [32,33]

Methods

Results

Conclusion