EFFECT OF DATE FRUIT (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA L.) EXTRACT ON TNFα LEVELS AND BRAIN WEIGHT OF ALZHEIMER’S MODEL RATS

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder marked by brain inflammation resulted in structural damage and brain dysfunction. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is a cytokine that plays an important role in inflammation. Dates fruit may help to fight oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain. Objective: To determine the effect of date fruit extracts on blood TNFα levels and brain weight of alzheimer’s model rats. Methods: This research is a laboratory experimental study by post-test only with control group design using alzheimer model rats. This study used 6 treatment groups with simple randomization. Each treatment group was represented by 8 Sprague Dawley rats. The normal control group (KN) was not induced by Hcy and was not given date palm extract, the negative control group (K-) was the Alzheimer's experimental rats which was not given the date palm extract, the positive group was the Alzheimer's experimental rats which was given the Donepezil (K+). Groups P1, P2, P3 were Alzheimer's experimental rats that were given date palm extract at a dose of 200, 400,800 mg / kgBW / day. The effect of date palm extract dosage on TNFα levels and brain weight were analyzed using the One Way Anova test followed by Tukey's post hoc test. Results: The difference in TNFα levels between groups showed a significant difference (p = 0.00). Meanwhile there was no significant difference in brain weight among all groups (p > 0,05). Conclusion: Date palm extract at doses of 200, 400, 800 mg / kgBW can decrease blood TNFα levels of Alzheimer’s model rats.

Evaluation of some nutritional quality criteria of seventeen Moroccan dates varieties and clones, fruits of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Date fruit is known to be the staple food in the Arab countries. It provides a lot of potential health benefits and can be the essential source of nutrients. The majority of Moroccan varieties are not characterized for their chemical, biochemical and quality properties. The aim of this work was to assess the chemical composition of 17 varieties of Moroccan date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and to determine their nutritive components. The analysis showed that the dates are rich in sugars (51.80-87.98%), they contain low concentration of proteins (1.09-2.80%) and lipids (0.16-0.39%). The predominant mineral is potassium (1055.26-1604.10 mg/100 g DW). Moreover, they contain high concentrations of malic acid (69.48-495.58 mg/100 g (DW)), oxalic acid (18.47-233.35 mg/100 g DW) and tartaric acid (115.70-484.168 mg/100 g DW). These results suggest that the date fruit are nutritious and can be an excellent source for human nutrition and health benefits.

Classification of Date Fruits into Genetic Varieties Using Image Analysis

A great number of fruits are grown around the world, each of which has various types. The factors that determine the type of fruit are the external appearance features such as color, length, diameter, and shape. The external appearance of the fruits is a major determinant of the fruit type. Determining the variety of fruits by looking at their external appearance may necessitate expertise, which is time-consuming and requires great effort. The aim of this study is to classify the types of date fruit, that are, Barhee, Deglet Nour, Sukkary, Rotab Mozafati, Ruthana, Safawi, and Sagai by using three different machine learning methods. In accordance with this purpose, 898 images of seven different date fruit types were obtained via the computer vision system (CVS). Through image processing techniques, a total of 34 features, including morphological features, shape, and color, were extracted from these images. First, models were developed by using the logistic regression (LR) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods, which are among the machine learning methods. Performance results achieved with these methods are 91.0% and 92.2%, respectively. Then, with the stacking model created by combining these models, the performance result was increased to 92.8%. It has been concluded that machine learning methods can be applied successfully for the classification of date fruit types.

Enhance Fruit Ripening Uniformity and Accelerate the Rutab Stage by Using ATP in ‘Zaghloul’ Dates during the Shelf Life

The Rutab date involves a physiological process by which the fruit turns completely ripe. The objective of this study was to research the effect of ATP-treated fruit to improve their biologically active compounds of the Rutab process of the ‘Zagloul’ date during shelf-life. Fruits at full color (red) were dipped in 0, 1, 1.5 mmol L−1 ATP solution for 10 min, and then stored at room temperature (27 ± 1 °C) with a relative humidity of (67 ± 4 RH%) for 12 d. We found that ATP treatment, especially at 1.5 mM, enhances the Rutab stage of date fruit, and certain biologically active compounds such as total phenols and flavonoids, in all ATP treatments compared to untreated fruits. ATP enhanced the loss of tannin compounds in fruit but had no impact on the change in fruit moisture percentage of fruit during storage. The treatments did affect the changes in total sugar content and activated the sucrose enzymes, i.e., acid invertase (AI), neutral invertase (NI), sucrose synthase-cleavage (SS-c), and sucrose synthase-synthesis (SS-s) during storage. Interestingly, immersion in 1.5 mM ATP forced the date fruit to reach the Rutab stage during storage. These results indicated that the dose of ATP (1.5 mM) is a new potential tool that pushes the fruits to regular ripening after harvest, thus reducing the losses in the fruits during the production process. A linear model could be satisfactorily used for predicting the properties of the treated date with ATP 1.5 mM at different shelf-life durations.

Characteristics of Pollen Grains of Different Date Pollinator Cultivars and Their Metaxenia Effect on Secondary Metabolites, Enzymes and Other Biochemical Compounds of ‘piarom’ Dates at Different Stages of Fruit Growth

In this study, the characteristics of pollens of eight date pollinating cultivars including ‘Shahani’, ‘Zahedi’, ‘Beraem’, ‘Faryab’, ‘Sheikhali’, ‘Fard’ and ‘Jarvis’ were compared and their metaxenia effects on secondary metabolites, enzymes and other biochemical compounds of ‘Piarom’ date fruit was investigated in four stages of fruit growth and development. The pollens of these eight pollinating cultivars were compared in terms of carbohydrate, protein starch, total phenol, flavonoids, pectin methyl esterase, and amylase enzymes. According to the results, , pollens of ‘Sheikhali’, ‘Fard’, ‘Zahedi’ and ‘Shahani’ cultivars had higher amounts of the above compounds than other cultivars. Regarding the effect of pollens on the composition of ‘Piarom’ date fruit, ‘Fard’ and ‘Sheikhali’ pollens produced the lowest amount of soluable tannin, which resulted in better quality of ‘Piarom’ date fruits. Pollens of ‘Sheikhali’ and ‘Fard’ cultivars produced the highest amounts of glucose and fructose in the fruit. In relation to sucrose, ‘Jarvis’ and ‘Shikhali’ were the best. Pollens of ‘Sheikhali’ and ‘Fard’ cultivars caused the lowest amount of chlorophyll in different stages of fruit growth, indicating better decomposition of fruit chlorophyll and, as a result, better fruit quality. Pollens of ‘Sheikhali’ and ‘Fard’ cultivars produced the highest amount of secondary metabolites such as total phenol, carotenoids and anthocyanin at different stages of ‘Piarom’ date fruit development. Pollens of ‘Fard’ and ‘Sheikhali’ cultivars produced the highest levels of polygalacturonase, cellulase and invertase enzymes at different stages of ‘Piarom’ date fruit growth. Regarding cellulase enzyme, ‘Zahedi’ cultivar produced more ‘cellulase’ in fruit than ‘Sheikhali’. In general, the pollens of ‘Fard’ and ‘Sheikhali, in comparison with other cultivars, improved the quantity and quality of ‘Piarom’ date fruit, due to their metaxenia properties.