Industrial Biotechnology: Date Palm Fruit Applications

Abstract

Biotechnology can help find ways to utilize surplus dates as raw ­materials for the production of value-added products such as medical and industrial ethanol, bakery yeast, single-cell protein as a fodder yeast, citric acid, date flavored probiotic fermented dairy products, etc. Date juice is one of the richest foodstuffs in neutral compounds such as monosaccharides, disaccharide, mineral salts and vitamins. These substances are considered essential elements for the growth of microorganisms, especially yeasts. Another product that could be produced from date is bakery yeast. Claims are made that there are no technological constraints in using date extract for bakery yeast production. Dates are a good potential substrate for single-cell protein (SCP) production due to their sugar content. SCP can be used in animal feed without problems including for cattle, fish, poultry and rabbits. Dates present a good vehicle to transport probiotics both for their micro-architecture and for the presence of nutrients. Dates contain some micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals which might enhance the growth of microbial flora in probiotic dairy products. Addition of date syrup to probiotic yogurt enhanced the bifidobacterial count of the product. There is an increasing concern about the loss of economic value resulting from the large surplus of dates. This indicates the urgent need for biotechnology to expand and diversify the manufacture of date products.