Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Fruits for Selected Varieties collected from Ha'il Region, Saudi Arabia.

Date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) is rich source of nutrition and is consumed as the healthiest alternative food content from fruit source in Saudi Arabia. Due to its popularity date palm is grown extensively in Ha'il region and many other parts of the country. The study was aimed to evaluate phenolic and flavonoid contents of selected varieties of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruits collected from, Ha'il Saudi Arabia. Total phenolic content of each extract was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent method and its absorbance was measured at 760 nm. Total flavonoid was extracted in a Soxhlet extractor with ethanol and then absorbance was measured against a blank at 510 nm. Total phenolic content of the investigated varieties ranged from 154 to 39 mg GAE/100g DM. The highest phenolic content was found in Ajwah, Umm-Hamam, Romaithyyah and Berhi respectively, while the lowest content was observed in Shaishi variety. On the other hand, total flavonoid content of the investigated varieties ranged from 28.85 to 95.31mg GAE/100g DM. The highest flavonoid content was found in Umm-Hamam, while the lowest content was observed in Menefi variety. Such variation in phenolic and flavonoid values could be attributed to several parameters, including date variety, stage of fruit picking, storage, postharvest processing, geographical origin of tree and soil condition. However, regardless this variation in phenolic and flavonoid contents, the current study confirms richness of Ha'il date fruits;Ajwah, Umm-Hamam, Romaithyyah and Berhi of these phytoconstituents which are well-documented to possess important medicinal values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]