Antioxidant and Anticancer Assessment and Phytochemical Investigation of Three Varieties of Date Fruits

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruits contain high concentrations of phenolic compounds, particularly flavonoids and other micronutrients, which impact human health due to their potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer characteristics. In the present study, the effect of ethyl acetate, hydroethanol, hydromethanol, and aqueous extract from three date palm varieties (i.e., Ajwa, Siwi, and Sukkari) on phytochemical profiles and antioxidant and anticancer activities was investigated. Fruit extracts were screened for their antioxidant activity using the DPPH· method. Phenolic constituents were quantified and identified using HPLC-DAD. Extracts (ethyl acetate, hydroethanol, and hydromethanol) were assessed for cytotoxicity on nine human cancer cell lines, i.e., MG-63, HCT116, MCF7, MDA-MB-231, HEPG2, HUH7, A549, H460, and HFB4, using the sulphorhodamine-B (SRB) assay. Results showed that the ethyl acetate extract of the Sukkari fruits has the greatest antioxidant potential with an IC₅₀ value of 132.4 ± 0.3 μg·mL^-1, while the aqueous extract of Ajwa date fruits exhibited the lowest antioxidant effect with an IC₅₀ value of 867.1 ± 0.3 μg·mL^-1. The extracts exhibited potent to moderate anticancer activities against the investigated cancer cell line in a source-dependent manner. Methanol extract of Siwi fruits exhibited the most potent anticancer activity (IC₅₀ = 99 ± 1.6 µg·mL^-1), followed by the same extract of Sukkari fruits with an IC₅₀ value of 119 ± 3.5 µg·mL^-1 against the cell line of human breast cancer (MDA-MB-231). Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) was investigated to determine the relationship among the investigated traits and treatments. Our findings reveal that date palm fruit-derived extracts are excellent sources of biologically active constituents and substantiate their potential use in new anticancer strategies from natural resources.

Identification of the Phytoconstituents in Methanolic Extract of Adhatoda vasica L. Leaves by GC-MS Analysis and its Antioxidant Activity

BACKGROUND

Adhatoda vasica L. is a medicinal plant, also known as Malabar nut in English, belongs to family Acanthaceae. It has been used traditionally to treat respiratory disorders like severe cough, cold, chronic bronchitis, asthma, tuberculosis, and other illnesses. The multifunctional range of bioactives found in it has piqued the interest of pharmaceutical companies, who are looking for more evidence-based ways to develop new formulations.

METHOD

Methanolic extract of Adhatoda vasica L. leaves (MEAV) was analysed by hyphenated gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy for identification and characterization of its bioactives and traditional therapeutic claim. Widely anticipated DPPH method was used to determine the antioxidant activity of MEAV.

RESULTS

The major compounds revealed in MEAV leaves are 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine (3.06%); 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (5.35%); 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (16.82%); 2-butylphenol (6.85%); 3,4-dihydroxy-5-methyl-dihydro-furan-2-on (2.5%); 2(OR 3)-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methoxyphenol (3.52%); megastigmatrienone 3 (1.02%); tetradecanoic acid (1.52%); vomifoliol (0.58%); oxalic acid, cyclobutylhexyl ester (6.03%); hexadecanoic acid (6.06%); 4-ethyl-2-oxo-2,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-cyclopenta[B]pyridine-3-carbonitrile (10.08%); phytol (2.01%); and vitamin E (3.18%). A significant reduction in free radical against DPPH was observed, which revealed antioxidant potential of MEAV.

CONCLUSION

Methanolic extract of Adhatoda vasica L. leaves consist of both polar and nonpolar components. GC-MS analysis was used to identify these compounds. The current work validates that the antioxidant activity of methanolic extract attributed to the presence of compounds like vitamin E, alkaloid, and terpene.

Date seed extract-loaded oil-in-water nanoemulsion: Development, characterization, and antioxidant activity as a delivery model for rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disorder, affecting around 1% of the world population. Antioxidant activity plays important role to overcome the inflammation associated with arthritis. Phoenix dactylifera (date) seeds, generally considered as a waste product or utilized as food for domestic farm animals, have been used as a source of antioxidants at different disease conditions. The aim of the present study was to enhance the release of date seed extract in order to achieve high antioxidant activity. Nanoemulsion of methanolic extract of date seed was prepared by aqueous titration method. The selected formulations were exposed to thermodynamic stability and dispersibility tests. The optimized nanoemulsions were evaluated on the basis of droplet size (23.14 ± 0.055nm), polydispersity index (0.166 ± 0.124), percent transmittance (99.12 ± 0.0163), refractive index (1.36 ± 0.046), viscosity (cP) (12.30 ± 0.75), conductivity (µS/cm) (347.46 ± 1.10), and drug content (%) (99.67 ± 0.11). The in vitro release studies revealed that final optimized formulation has cumulative release of drug (57.51% ± 2.65%), which was more significantly greater as compared to drug suspension (26.44% ± 1.15%). Further in vitro antioxidant activity studies revealed that the developed methanolic extract of date seed-loaded nanoemulsion has more antioxidant potential when compared with methanolic extract.

Date Seeds: A Promising Source of Oil with Functional Properties

The cultivation of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the main activity and source of livelihood for people from arid and semiarid regions of the world. Date production is increasing every year. In addition, pitted date exportation is rising and great amounts of date seeds are produced. This biomass represents a problem for manufacturing companies. At the moment, date seeds are normally discarded or used as animal feed ingredients. However, this co-product can be used for many other applications due to its valuable chemical composition. Oil is one of the most interesting components of the date seed. In fact, date seeds contain 5-13% oil. Date seed oil contains saturated and unsaturated fatty acids with lauric and oleic as the main ones, respectively. Tocopherols, tocotrienols, phytosterols, and phenolic compounds are also present in significant amounts. These phytochemicals confer added value to date seed oil, which could be used for many applications, such as food product formulations, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. This review provides up-to-date data on the different extraction techniques and the chemical composition of date seed oils. The applications of date seed oil have also been reviewed.