ReviewA review on chemistry and pharmacology of Ajwa date fruit and pit
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Traditionally fruits constitute a major part of human diet from ancient time. Certain fruits acquire a special attention in daily routine of certain population owing to their religious practices. Fruits and vegetables have been recommended strongly by WHO and other nutritional societies around the world for improving general health and wellness of masses. In the wake of health and wellness awareness from last two decades a significant progress has been made on the studies of bioactive compounds in plants foods to find their direct effects on human health and wellbeing (Vayalil, 2012). In this regard date fruit is well-regarded for its nutraceutical properties in Middle East and Africa. However, its significance in Western countries has not been explored yet owing different culture and eating habits. Scientific community now has realized its nutritional value in diet and has started to explore more avenues for development in this category of fruits.
Date palm commonly known as Phoenix dactylifera is one of the oldest (5500–3000 BCE) cultivated variety of date palm trees having nutritional, environmental, economic and ornamental, benefits (Barreveld, 1993). Cultivation of date palm is thought to be merged with cultural, environmental, religious and social development of people living in hot and arid areas especially in Middle East and Africa (Terral et al., 2012). Therefore, till now date palm is a major cultivating crop of above described areas and these regions are leading producers and exporters of date products worldwide (Assirey, 2015). Date palm is monocotyledon tree that can grow to an altitude of 1500 m in well-drained soils. Currently, date palm tree is being cultivated mainly in areas of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, Morocco, Sudan and Oman (FAO, 2003). One of the major characteristics of date fruit is to be consumed as staple dietary food in different regions of the world such as Arabian, Asian and some African countries (Barreveld, 1993). Another distinguishing characteristic of date fruit is that it can be consumed at three different maturity stages such as Khalal, Rutab and Tamar. However, newly ripened fresh dates are preferred in many date producing countries. Dates are also commercially available in dehydrated form, but dehydrated dates are prepared by drying processing techniques to increase their shelf life but it reduces the nutritional value of these dates (Abdul-Hamid, Abas, Ismail, Shaari, & Lajis, 2015). Taste, nutritional and phytochemical properties of the dates vary depending upon its maturity stage and the variety of dates. There are approximately 5000 date varieties that are grown in different regions of the world. The most common ones are Aseel, Zahidi, Majdool, Mabrook, Dhakki, Halawi, Lasht, Deggla and Bamy (Eid et al., 2013a, Eid et al., 2013b).
Ajwa date fruits (Fig. 1) are soft and dry and this date fruit is cultivated in the Al Madinah region of western Saudi Arabia. The Ajwa date variety has great medicinal properties. The old testaments, “Hadith” and Islamic literature pointed the beneficial properties of this date variety and it is believed that eating this date variety will cure many chronic diseases and ailments. The Ajwa date the most popular and expensive fruit that belongs only to the holy city of Al Madinah Al Munawara and its adjoining areas in Saudi Arabia (Zhang et al., 2013a, Zhang et al., 2013b). Ajwa dates contain ample amount of dietary fiber and have potential to correct the digestion problems. Ajwa date works as natural roughage to the body and stimulate the bowl movement and provide effective relief from constipation (Al-Shahib & Marshall, 2003). Similarly, these dates contain high amounts of potassium and plays an effective role in muscle contraction. The Ajwa fruit shape is ovoid elongated and medium in size. The color is dark red in the rutab stage and turns to dark brown in the tamer stage with wrinkles (Fig. 1). The weights of Ajwa flesh and seed increase during the rutab stage and then decrease during the tamer stage (Gasim, 1994). Ajwa date has a sugar content of 77% (0.5% sucrose, 34.5% glucose and 25.6% fructose) and high proportion of minerals (3%) compared to other varieties of dates (1.5–2.7%), especially calcium (1.22 g/100 g dry matter) (Gasim, 1994).
Ajwa dates are effective for lactating women, since they assist in enriching breast milk with many effective nutrients. Furthermore, several studies have shown that kids of mothers who eat Ajwa dates regularly are less susceptible to diseases and infections (Al-Farsi & Lee, 2008). The other huge advantage of consuming Ajwa dates is that they comprise of high iron content. Iron is vital in red blood cell production and they may also assist to treat and prevent anemia (N. S. Hasan et al., 2010). Ajwa dates due to its high nutritional and health benefit properties can be considered as a potential bioactive ingredient for developing health oriented food products (Al-Farsi & Lee, 2008). Therefore, this review is focused on summarizing the current research studies on nutritional importance, phytochemical composition and health benefits of Ajwa dates.
Section snippets
Nutritional significance of Ajwa date fruit parts
It was suggested in the second American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF) expert committee report that people should overcome their nutritional requirements through routine diet rather than using dietary supplements for preventing cancer and other chronic diseases (Stewart & Wild, 2015). Ajwa date fruit being a staple food has provided nutrition to millions of people worldwide since ancient times till now. Therefore, it is important to
Phytochemicals in Ajwa date fruit
Phytochemicals having strong antioxidant activities are inter-cellular plant metabolites which have potential health benefits such as prevention of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular maladies (M. Al-Farsi & Lee, 2008). Ajwa date fruit is enriched with polyphenols, flavonoids including rutin, catechins, iso-flavonoids, sterols, lignans which are important for lowering cholesterol level and thus reducing cardiovascular related illnesses (Hamad et al., 2015, Samad et al., 2016). The quantities of
Biological and pharmacological activities of Ajwa date
The efficacy of drugs usage has been decreased due to the emergence of resistance and tolerance in the existing drugs. Therefore, an increasing trend to replace the synthetic drugs with natural products (plants sources) has been observed in pharmaceutical industry. These natural sources are enriched with phytochemicals which have higher disease preventing characteristics (Chirumbolo, 2012). Ajwa date is used traditionally and historically against different diseases due to its anti-inflammatory,
Conclusion
The data analysis from the last few decades suggests that ajwa date fruit has a potential to become an essential food ingredient for developing new bioactive functional food products targeted at various physiological functions of human body. This review has provided a guideline to proceed further in establishing the efficacy of various observed medicinal effects including anti-cancer, gastro-protective, hepato-protective and nephro-protective activities. These observed pharmacological
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