The benefits of date pits Essay

Date pits, when contrasted with pulp, comprised of augmented quantities of dietary fibres, protein and fat (Al Farsi et al., 2007). Habib and Ibrahim (2009) have recently studied the nutritional quality (dietary fiber, proximate analysis and micronutrients) of eighteen leading varieties of date pits. It was found that Date pits are more abundant in dietary fiber (73.1 g/100 g), fat (9.0 g/100 g), protein (5.1 g/100 g), antioxidants (80,400 mol/100 g), phenolic (3942 mg/100 g) (Habib & Ibrahim, 2009). Date palm are may also be employed in enhancing the nutritional value of incorporated food products (Habib and Ibrahim, 2009). Martn-Snchez et al., (2013) observed that sugary taste and moisture extracts of different varieties of Dates may be applied in variable quantities to other foods (such as meat) to make a food product more appealing. It has also been recommended that Dates extracts and application is deemed healthier as Dates contain certain micro and macronutrients and consumers are more concerned with their health and its relation with diet (Al Farsi and Lee, 2008 Ali Mohamed and Khamis, 2004).
The Dates Flesh and seed are also noted to contain 0.2 to 0.5% and 7.7% to 9.7% of saponifiable oil respectively (Martn-Snchez et al., 2013). A broad range of saturated and unsaturated acids found in dates are abundant in fatty acids. Namely, the saturated fatty acids comprise of varieties of Lauric, capric, stearic, myristic, palmitic, arachidic, behenic, margaric, arachidic, heneicosanoic, and tricosanoic acids. Some of the unsaturated fatty acids found in dates abundantly are namely oleic, palmitoleic and linolenic acids (Habib & Ibrahim, 2013). Shanab, Hanafy, & Shalaby (2014) found in their study that the percentage of fatty acids wide-ranging between variety of seed. It has been found that flesh contain one eighth of the fatty acid compared to the seed of date (Shanab et al., 2014). The most abundant fatty acid found is the oleic acid, concentration of which exist between the ranges of 41.1% to 58.8%. This implies that the seeds of dates could be used as a source of oleic acid (Martn-Snchez et al., 2013)
The Dates flesh and seed also contain an abundance of mineral. More than 15 different minerals have been found to occur in dates (Shanab et al., 2014). Although the proportion of these mineral have been known to vary between 0.1 to 916 mg/100 g in different varieties of date, their functional utility may depend on the type of mineral present in particular variety. It has been suggested by Manickavasagan et al., (2015) that Dates contain essential mineral i.e., fluorine which may be helpful in resisting the teeth against teeth decay. It has also been found that selenium and boron, minerals linked to cancer treatment and prevention and maintenance of immune status of a person has also been found to be abundant in Dates (Manickavasagan et al., 2015). Boron and vitamins found abundantly in Dates are also employed to treat rheumatism (Manickavasagan et al., 2015). Alshahib and Marshall (2003) suggested that Dates possess the antioxidant properties.