Nutritional value, phytochemical composition, and biological activities of Middle Eastern and North African date fruit: an overview

The fruit of date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important component of the diet in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This study gathered nutritional informations about the important date varieties grown in the countries from the MENA region. The objective of this article is to give a general overview of what has been achieved with dates from MENA countries, especially Arab countries, in terms of nutritional quality, content of bioactive molecules, and therapeutic virtues. More than 80 references were consulted that were published in well-known databases. This analysis revealed that dates from the MENA region are of high nutritional density. The dates are a rich source of carbohydrates and dietary fiber with contents up to 88.02% and 16.95%, respectively, in some varieties. However, the dates are low in proteins and fats, less than 3.30% and 0.56%, respectively, except the Halaoua variety from Saudi Arabia that can present a high content of fats. The presence of minerals is also noteworthy in dates at up to 6.20% in some varieties. The dates are also a considerable source of bioactive molecules, in particular carotenoids and phenolic compounds that can prevent and/or reduce the risk of diseases due to oxidative stress. This composition makes the fruit beneficial and an appropriate food source for all people of different age groups. Results from this overview underline the importance of the consumption of dates, which can be a good alternative source of basic nutritional requirements, beside encouraging the development of new appropriate processing and packaging technologies in order to extend the shelf life of the fruit to allow access to other parts of the world for general nutrition and a potential emerging medicinal food, thus improving long-term human well-being.