Physicochemical, Nutritional and Functional Properties of the Epicarp, Flesh and Pitted Sample of Doum Fruit (<i>Hyphaene</i><i> </i><i>T</i><i>hebaica</i>)

Abstract

In this study, the physicochemical, nutritional and functional properties of epicarp, flesh and pitted samples of doum fruit (Hyphaene thebaica) were assessed. Results on carbohydrate content revealed that the flesh, pitted fruit and epicarp samples contained 72.50%, 65.61% and 44.17% respectively. Total fiber was highly concentrated in the epicarp accounting for more than 40%. It was further revealed that the fruit contained substantial amounts of essential minerals as follows: sodium 364.7 mg/100 g, calcium 284 mg/100 g and iron 12.18 mg/100 g in the epicarp while the following were contained in the flesh part of the fruit: potassium 2947.6 mg/100 g, magnesium 185.62 mg/100 g and phosphorus 154.6 mg/100 g. Vitamin content was determined by RP-HPLC and the results showed that doum fruit is a good source of vitamin B-complex which was found it at high portion in epicarp with the variance of 3.6 mg/100 g in niacin (B3) content to 13.6 mg/100 g in pyridoxine (B6) content. Monosaccharide content was determined by using HPAEC-PAD and the results showed that the flesh of the doum fruit is a good source of glucose and fructose. There was a significant difference in color parameters between samples. Bulk density results were 0.73, 0.75 and 0.95 mg/ml for epicarp, pitted fruit and flesh respectively. It can be concluded that the doum fruit contained essential nutrients and functional properties which can be exploited for various useful applications.