Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit (dates) are an economically and culturally significant crop in the Middle East and North Africa. There are hundreds of different commercial cultivars producing dates with distinctive shapes, colors, and sizes. Genetic studies of some date palm traits have been performed, including sex determination, sugar content, and fresh fruit color. In this study, we used genome sequences and image data of 199 dry dates (Tamar) collected from 14 countries to identify genetic loci associated with the color of this fruit stage. Here, we find loci across multiple linkage groups (LG) associated with dry fruit color phenotype. We recover both the previously identified VIRESCENS(VIR) genotype associated with fresh fruit yellow or red color and new associations with the lightness and darkness of dry fruit. This study will add resolution to our understanding of date color phenotype, especially at the most commercially important Tamar stage.

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit is of major importance for the nutrition of broad populations in the world's desert strip; yet it is sorely understudied. Understanding the mechanism regulating date fruit development and ripening is essential to customise date crop to the climatic change, which elaborates yield losses due to often too early occurring wet season. This study aimed to uncover the mechanism regulating date fruit ripening. To that end, we followed the natural process of date fruit development and the effects of exogenous hormone application on fruit ripening in the elite cultivar 'Medjool'. The results of the current study indicate that the onset of fruit ripening occurre once the seed had reached maximum dry weight. From this point, fruit pericarp endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) levels consistently increased until fruit harvest. The final stage in fruit ripening, the yellow-to-brown transition, was preceded by an arrest of xylem-mediated water transport into the fruit. Exogenous ABA application enhanced fruit ripening when applied just before the green-to-yellow fruit color transition. Repeated ABA applications hastened various fruit ripening processes, resulting in earlier fruit harvest. The data presented supports a pivotal role for ABA in the regulation of date fruit ripening.

Date palm fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an endemic functional food, with great nutritional and economic importance due to its phytochemical compositions. The microenvironment of pancreatic cancer consists of cellular and acellular components, including fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs), immune cells, blood vessels, extracellular matrix (ECM) and soluble proteins, such as cytokines and growth factors. The ECM represents a physical barrier that protects the tumor cell from active therapeutic compounds. In this study, four different solvents; water, ethanol, acetone, and ethyl acetate have been used to extract natural products from date palm fruit using a maceration method. The prepared extracts were investigated for antifibrotic (expression of fibronectin-1 and alpha-smooth muscle actin) and antiproliferative activity in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) stimulated PSCs in vitro. Based on the pharmacological test results, the ethyl acetate extract was subsequently partitioned into nine fractions based on polarity using silica gel column chromatography. These nine collective fractions were further evaluated for their activity. Ethanol, ethyl acetate and acetone, but not water extract significantly reduced PSC proliferation (p < 0.05). Date fruit fractions reduced fibrosis, decreased PSC activity and reversed the PSCs’ fibrotic phenotype. The findings suggest a new approach for targeting pancreatic cancer through the modulation of PSC activity, thereby possibly enhancing the effect of known anticancer drugs. Moreover, date palm fruit appears to have chemopreventive activity protecting from pancreatic and probably other types of cancer, and thereby might be useful candidate to the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries in the development of natural compound-based industrial anticancer product.

Worldwide, and in Jordan specifically, date palm fruit production has been steadily increasing. Recently, various dates extracts have been used functionally as antioxidants or anticancer agents. In addition, Jordanian date palm fruit of Barhi variety at two maturity stages (Rutab) and (Tamr) inhibited chemically-induced mammary cancer in animal model. The aim of this study is to strengthen the scientific evidence on the effect of dates on mammary cancer via assessing the effect of different concentrations of water extracts of three varieties of dates grown in Jordan (Barhi, Belle Huwaimil, and Medjool) at two maturity stages (Rutab and Tamr) on the viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. The effects of different extracts on MCF7 inhibition/proliferation was analyzed using MTT assay. Percentage of inhibition was calculated. The most effective concentration was 100 mg/ml for all varieties. At this concentration, Medjool variety at the Tamr stage exhibited the highest inhibition. At the 12.5 and 25 mg/ml concentrations of the extracts, the most effective date palm fruit varieties were Belle Huwaimil and Barhi at the Tamr stage respectively. At lower concentrations (3.125 and 6.25 mg/ml), Medjool at the Tamr stage and Belle Huwaimil respectively were the most effective extracts were Barhi at the Tamr and Rutab stages were the least effective (P=0.000**). It is concluded that water extract of palm fruit reduced MCF-7 cell viability.

Date palm cultivation is highly relevant, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, mainly due to the fact that it is considered an eco-efficient crop (based on its few growth requirements and the fact that it is economic and sustainable) that produces a nutritious fruit (date fruit). Recently, its implantation has rapidly spread to other areas of the world as a viable option to fight against the consequences of climate change, but also due to several health benefits associated with date fruit (pulp and seeds) which make them a potential source of functional food ingredients. This review provides detailed recent information on the nutrition, nutraceuticals and bioactive properties of date palm fruit (reinforced with in vitro and in vivo evidences) and their potential for developing novel and functional foods as a way to highlight the wide possibilities for this crop. Date fruits are rich in phytochemicals, such as phenolics, anthocyanin, carotenoids, tocopherols, phytosterols and dietary fiber, which have been linked with their biological activities (antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, prebiotic, anticancer and antitoxic properties) and are responsible for their use in the prevention and control of current diseases such as diabetes, cancer and gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases in industrialized countries.

The present study was conducted during the 2017 and 2018 seasons on date palm cv. Khalas to determine the most effective daytime to pollinate female palms to obtain optimum fruit set, yield, and best fruit characteristics. Nine, twelve-year-old date palm trees were selected for the experiment, and five spathes from each palm were chosen for pollination. These palms were pollinated at three different daytimes, i.e., at 8am (morning), 11am (late morning), and 2pm (afternoon). The experiment was laid out on Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates for each treatment. The outcome of the study indicated significant differences among three pollination times. Date palm cv. Khalas pollinated at 11am exhibited significantly promising results regarding fruit set percentage, parthenocarpic fruit percentage, biser fruit percentage, tamar fruit percentage, bunch weight, yield per palm, fruit fresh weight, fruit length, fruit width, fruit volume, pulp weight, pulp ratio, seed ratio, pulp:seed ratio, seed weight, seed length, and fruit moisture content; however, fruit drop percentage, seed width, total soluble solids, total sugar, reducing sugar, and non-reducing sugar were not significantly affected by any pollination times. Pollination carried out at 2pm closely following to 11am pollens application time, and a number of attributes were non-significant between the two times such as fruit set percentage, parthenocarpic fruit percentage, biser fruit percentage, tamar fruit percentage, bunch weight, yield per palm, fruit volume and seed length. Early pollination time (8am) showed poor results regarding most of the attributes studied. Therefore, it is concluded that pollination should be carried out around the middle of the day when the ambient temperature is optimum, which favours pollen germination and positively influence fruit yield and quality attributes.

Palm dates are among the most highly cultivated and consumed fruits in Kuwait and other Arabian Gulf countries. However, data on the nutritional content of Kuwaiti date fruits remain scarce. The purpose of the current study was to determine the nutritional composition and biochemical characteristics of five date palm fruit varieties at the Khalal stage grown in Kuwait. Samples of five different cultivars (Berhi (samples from 2 different locations), Ikhlas, Saamaran, and Khanizi) grown in Kuwait were analyzed for energy, protein, carbohydrates, sugars, antioxidants, and micro-minerals. Varieties studied had high energy values ranging between 351.63 kcal/100g and 368.35 kcal/100g. They were rich in potassium (4450-7128mg/100g), with significant amounts of calcium (287.8-469.1mg/100g), magnesium (130.3 -294.5 mg/100g), sodium (70.7-123.3 mg/100g), iron (2.45-3.2 mg/100g) and manganese (0.7-1.55 mg/100g). Gallic (19.97-5.47 mg/100g), chlorogenic (0-0.712mg/100 g), and ascorbic (0.624-0.875 g/1mg) acids were the main antioxidants. The data indicate that the Kuwaiti date fruit is a rich source of essential nutrients making it an important local product that requires further investigations for its nutritional properties and industrial utilization prospects.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit are an economically and culturally significant crop in the Middle East and North Africa. There are hundreds of different commercial cultivars producing dates with distinctive shapes, colors, and sizes. Genetic studies of some Date palm traits have been performed, including for date palm sex-determination, sugar content and fresh fruit colour. In this study, we used genome sequences and image data of 199 dry date fruit (Tamar) samples collected from 14 countries to identify genetic loci associated with the color of this fruit stage. Here, we find loci across multiple linkage groups (LG) associated with dry fruit color phenotype. We recover the previously identified VIR genotype associated with fresh fruit yellow or red color and new associations with the lightness and darkness of dry fruit. This study will add resolution to our understanding of the date palm fruit color phenotype especially at the most commercially important tamar stage.

The popularity of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit is increasing, therefore the demand for high-quality date palm fruit with less or no chemical treatment is the topic of interest for date producers and consumers. The quality of date palm fruit is much dependent on its postharvest handling and processing. For preventing the degradation and maintenance of the high quality of dates during the storage an appropriate harvest and post-harvest processes are required. The process should control the biotic and abiotic factors like insects, fungus, temperature, as well as handling and processing of dates. Therefore, in this work, we reviewed the literature related to the protection of date fruits during their post-harvest life. The commercially viable advance and updated techniques that can be used to avoid storage losses and problems while keeping fruit quality (nutritional, color, flavor, and texture) and microbial safety under optimal conditions are discussed.

Abstract The date palm fruit ( Phoenix dactylifera ) is one of the earliest crops to be cultivated in the Middle East. Many varieties of dates are available and being marketed at various price ranges. However, there is no standardized approach available to verify the quality of Saudi date palm fruits. The current study aimed to assess the variations in the quality of different varieties of Saudi dates on the basis of the metabolite composition, proximate analysis, physical characteristics and biological activities. Nine date palm varieties Berni, Halaoua, Shalabi, Sogaai, Sukkari, Nebtat Ali, Anbara, Ajwa and Medjoul were evaluated via the Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( 1 H NMR) based metabolomics approach. The DPPH and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging abilities, NO inhibition via the cell-based approach and total phenolic content (TPC) were determined. The physical features including dimension, seed/weight ratios and color variation also were evaluated. The proximate composition was carried out using the protocol ascribed by AOAC method. Metabolomics approach was successfully being applied in discriminating date palm varieties. Un-targeted metabolite profiling was achieved based on the acquired NMR data. Different trend of biological activities were displayed. The Ajwa dates which was the smallest, shortest in length and darkest colored Saudi date palm fruit demonstrated the highest percentage of NO inhibition/scavenging. Based on the variation in physical features, biological activities, metabolites content and proximate analysis, no noticeable correlation were observed between the market price and Saudi date palm variety qualities.