ISSN 1519-6984 (Print)

ISSN 1678-4375 (Online)

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON NEOTROPICAL BIOLOGY

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENT

Original Article

Date seeds (Phoenix Dactylifera L.) valorization: chemical

composition of lipid fraction
Valorização de sementes de tâmara (Phoenix Dactylifera L.): composição química da
fração lipídica

A. Alahyanea* , S. ElQarnifaa , J. Ayoura , I. Elateria , A. Ouamninaa, A. Ait-Oubahoub , M. Benichoua  and

M. Abderrazika 
Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Sciences-Semlalia, Department of Biology, Laboratory of Agro-Food, Biotechnologies and Valorization of
a

Plant Bioresources, Marrakesh, Morocco

b
Horticultural Laboratory, Hassan II Agronomy and Veterinary Institute, Ait Melloul, Morocco

Abstract
This research was aimed to study the lipid fraction of date seeds. Seventeen seeds of date palm varieties and clones
were evaluated and assessed for their chemical components and for the properties of the date pits oil. Gas liquid
chromatography showed that the main unsaturated fatty acid was oleic acid (46.00 - 50.87%), while the main
saturated fatty acid was lauric acid (10.11 - 19.03%) for the cultivars Mentouj Tissgharine (MTN) and Bheir Ingli
(KBN) respectively; other fatty acids were also identified. The physicochemical characterization showed an acid
value ranging from 0.068 to 1.188%, a specific extinction value equal to (K232: 1.350–2.225; K270: 0.318– 0.521),
a peroxide value in the interval (1.059–5.618 meq O2/kg) and an iodine value (41.861–59.980 g Iodine/100 g). The
pheophytin content of date seed oils was found within the range from 21.855 to 75.685%. The chemical analysis
showed that date seed oil can be useful in cosmetic and food products processing.
Keywords: date seeds, oil, fatty acids, Phoenix Dactylifera L., oleic acid.

Resumo
Dezessete sementes de variedades e clones de tamareiras foram avaliadas quanto aos seus componentes químicos
e às propriedades do óleo de caroço de tâmara. A cromatografia gasosa líquida mostrou que o principal ácido
graxo insaturado foi o ácido oleico (46,00% - 50,87%), enquanto o principal ácido graxo saturado foi o ácido láurico
(10,11% - 19,03%) para as cultivares MTN e KBN, respectivamente; outros ácidos graxos também foram identificados.
A caracterização físico-química mostrou um valor ácido variando de 0,068% a 1,188%, um valor específico de
extinção igual a (K232: 1,350–2,225; K270: 0,318–0,521), um valor de peróxido no intervalo (1,059–5,618 meq
O2/kg) e um valor de iodo (41,861–59,980 g Iodo/100 g). O teor de feofitina dos óleos de sementes de tâmara foi
encontrado na faixa de 21,855% a 75,685%. A análise química mostrou que o óleo de semente de tâmara pode ser
útil no processamento de produtos cosméticos e alimentícios.
Palavras-chave: sementes de tâmara, óleo, ácidos graxos, Phoenix Dactilifera L., ácido oleico.

1. Introduction

The fruit of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) has constitutes the principal source of remuneration and
been one of the important crops in the arid and semi-arid the basis of economy for the people of these regions
regions of the world (Minikaev et al., 2021). It has always (Pegna et al., 2019). Date seeds represent a major waste
played a vital role in the economic and social life of the material and constitute approximately 6.10 to 11.47% of
inhabitants of the oases. The fruit of the date palm is the fruit (Habib and Ibrahim, 2009).
well known as a healthy food (Al-Mssallem et al., 2020). After technological and biological transformation of
It is composed of a pericarp and a fleshy seed. The fruit date fruits, the date palm pits (seeds) are considered the
of the date palm presents one of the most important main waste obtained from many industries (Benregga et al.,
agricultural commodities in the Moroccan sahara. It is 2021). In fact, a significant amount of date fruit seeds could
served mainly as a vital component of the diet and a easily be collected from cooperatives, economic interest
staple food (Younas et al., 2020). In addition, dates palm groups and small industrial units for date treatment. This

*e-mail: [email protected]
Received: February 6, 2022 – Accepted: April 28, 2022
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Alahyane, A. et al.

kind of waste is also found in the palm grove. It is well 2.2. Extraction of date seed fats
known that date seeds contain 10% of crude oil and a wide The seed fats of each variety and clone were performed
range of nutritional functional compounds such as fiber, with a soxhlet extractor using n-Hexane as a solvent for
fat, moisture, protein, ash and vitamins as well as high 8 h. The solvent was removed using a rotary evaporator
amounts of phenolic (Al-Farsi et al., 2007). apparatus at 40 °C and the lipids were weighed and stored
Several studies have focused on the chemical and in a freezer at 4 °C until use.
nutritional composition of the flesh of the date fruit
(Harrak et al., 2003; Harrak et al., 2005; Elguerrouj et al., 2.3. Physicochemical characteristics of date oils
2011; Hasanaoui et al., 2010), however a few works have Acidity (expressed as % oleic acid) and peroxide
been published on date palm seeds (Akbari et al., 2012; value (meq O2/kg oil) were determined according to
Bouhlali et al., 2017; Habib et al., 2013). The present the ISO methods namely by (ISO, 2009) and (ISO, 2007),
study is an attempt to shed light on the properties of the respectively.
chemical composition of oil extracts from 17 Moroccan K232 and K270 extinction coefficients were
varieties and clones of fruit seeds. calculated from absorption at 232 nm and 270 nm
respectively according to the ISO 3656 (2002), with a UV
spectrophotometer (Varian Cary50) using a 1% solution
of oil in cyclohexane and path length of 1 cm.
2. Materials and Methods
The iodine value, measuring the overall unsaturation in
the grass material, is determined according to (ISO, 1996).
2.1. Materials
Date palm fruits collected at the “Tamr stage” were 2.4. Chlorophyll and Pheophytin
obtained from Drâa oases (Zagora, Southern Morocco).
Following the procedures described by (Isabel Minguez‐
The seeds of the 17 varieties and clones (Table 1) were Mosquera et al., 1991). The Chlorophyll and pheophytin
directly isolated from date fruit and kept frozen at 10 °C. fractions were measured in a Varian Cary 50 UV-Visible
The seeds of each variety and clone were soaked in water, Spectrophotometer against a blank using Hexane at 630,
washed, dried and grounded into a fine powder. 670 and 710 nm.

2.5. Fatty acid analysis (MUFA, PUFA, P/S, SFA)

Table 1. Name and abbreviations of date varieties and clones. Determination of the FA composition was performed
via trans-esterification into fatty acid methyl esters
Varieties and following the analytical methods described in the
Abbreviations
clones European Commission Regulation (EC) no. 2568/91. They
were analyzed by gas chromatography (Varian CP-3380),
variety Bourar BRR
equipped with a capillary column (CP-Wax 52 CB: L=25 m;
Black BST Ф= 0.25 mm; Ft= 0.20 μm), using an injector split-splitless
Bousthammi
equipped with CP-8400 auto-sampler and a FID detector.
Bouzegagh BZG The temperatures of the injector, the detector and the
Iklane IKL oven were held at 220°C, 230°C and 190°C, respectively.
The carrier gas was Hydrogen.
clone Bheir Ingli KBN

Elahmer Chetoui ECT 2.6. Statistical analysis

Elasfer Eljaid EED Statistical analysis was performed using XLSTAT
Elmensoum EMS software (XLSTAT, 2014). The experimental results were
reported as mean ± SE (standard error) on dry weight.
Hak Feddan HFL
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and LSD (p < 0.0001)
Laaneb
tests were used to compare the experimental groups.
khali Iaissi IAS Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was used to measure
Khalt Abdelghani IAH the association between two variables. Differences at p <
0.05 were considered significant.
Khalt Iaach KHL

Khalt Khel KKL

Khalt Lohmadi LHD 3. Results and Discussion

Khalt Zoubair Ibn ZIE
Laouam 3.1. Physico-chemical analyses
Mentouj Lhaj MEL 3.1.1. Date seed oil’s quality indices (Acidity, peroxide
Lehbib
value and specific extinctions)
Mentouj MTN
The results depicted in Table 2 show the acidity and
Tissgharine
peroxide values of date seeds oil. The acidity parameter

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 Quality characteristics of date seed oil

Table 2. Physicochemical characteristics of date pits oil.

Specific Extinction Peroxide value Iode value

Chlorophyll pheophytin Acidity(%)
K232 K270 (meqd’O2 / kg) (g/ 100 g)

MTN 19.48±0.12bc 64.85±0,40bc 0.23±0.04b 1.48±0.00cdef 0.52±0.01a 4.82±0.28ab 50.08±1.77abcde

EMS 12.64±0.03 gh
42.09±0.12 ghi
1.18±0.01 a
1.49±0.00 cdef
0.36±0.01 bc
1.85±0.22 efg
50.20±2.14abcde

EED 16.45±0.06de 54.76±0.21def 0.10±0.01c 1.47±0.02cdef 0.36±0.02bc 1.82±0.07efg 48.87±2.62bcde

LHD 9.902±0.08 i
32.96±0.28 j
0.07±0.00 c
1.42±0.00 efg
0.34±0.00 bc
4.87±0.14 ab
59.98±1.09a

IKL 21.65±0.14a 75.68±3.10a 0.08±0.00c 2.22±0.01b 0.37±0.01bc 3.24±0.39bcdef 51.13±0.93abcde

IAH 18.18±0.00 cd
62.20±1.65 bcd
0.07±0.00 c
1.46±0.02 cdefg
0.42±0.00 abc
1.05±0.01 g
41.86±1.39e

ZIE 7.053±0.59j 23.48±1.97k 0.10±0.00c 1.41±0.00fg 0.35±0.03bc 5.38±0.28a 50.62±0.44abcde

HFL 14.97±0.94 ef
49.84±3.14 efg
0.09±0.00 c
1.45±0.01 defg
0.33±0.01 c
1.71±0.33 fg
48.79±0.56bcde

KKL 20.92±0.33ab 69.52±0.96ab 0.09±0.00c 1.44±0.04defg 0.44±0.00ab 5.61±0.18a 47.83±0.54bcde

KHL 12.76±0.03 igh

42.49±0.13 ghi
0.11±0.00 c
1.35±0.03 g
0.37±0.00 bc
2.24±0.88 defg
57.59±5.65abc

KBN 10.05±0.00fi 33.47±0.00j 0.08±0.00c 1.54±0.00cdef 0.34±0.00bc 4.18±0.15abcd 55.03±0.24abcd

BST 14.27±0.09 fg
47.52±0.33 fgh
0.10±0.00 c
1.47±0.00 cdef
0.37±0.00 bc
1.81±0.33 efg
55.48±0.74abcd

MEL 6.565±0.30j 21.85±1.00k 0.11±0.01c 1.53±0.02cde 0.34±0.03bc 3.72±0.77abcde 54.43±0.60abcd

BRR 17.35±0.38 d
56.11±2.93 de
0.08±0.01 c
1.58±0.01 c
0.33±0.01 c
4.47±0.06 abc
46.89±0.35de

BZG 12.32±0.02h 41.01±0.07hij 0.08±0.01c 2.44±0.02a 0.31±0.00c 3.29±0.24bcdef 47.03±1.12cde

ECT 17.04±0.22d 56.73±0.73 cde

0.06±0.00 c
1.43±0.00 defg
0.35±0.01 bc
5.10±0.07 ab
58.45±2.55ab

IAS 11.69±0.03hi 38.92±0.11ij 0.29±0.00b 1.51±0.01cdef 0.35±0.03bc 2.77±0.04cdefg 47.99±0.11bcde

Values are presented as means ± standard deviation (SD) of three replications. Data in the same column followed by different letters are significantly
different from each other according to LSD test.

is an important quality factor and is widely used to and Wada., 2006), the date seeds oil can be considered as
classify olive oil and argan oil (Gharby et al., 2012). This safe for human consumption because of its low peroxide
parameter can modify the organoleptic or physicochemical value that is less than 30 meq peroxide/kg.
properties of the oil. The acidity as oleic acid in date The acidity and the peroxide values of date seed oil (as
seeds oil varied from 0.06 to 1.18%, the lowest value was crude seed oil) presented very low values for all studied
for ECT (Elahmer chetoui) clone and the highest one varieties and clones showing the high quality of the date
was for EMS (Elmensoum) clone. Our results are lower seed oils and indicating that they can be used for food
than those reported by (Boukouada and Yousfi, 2009) applications. In addition, this suggests that the oil can be
for Algerian date seeds oil. They are also lower than the stored for a long period of time without any deterioration
results of Bouhlali et al. (2017), which pointed out that (Liu et al., 2021).
the acidity value of Moroccan date seed oil was between The results obtained for the date seeds oil revealed that
1.083–1.813 mg KOH/g. The high acidity observed in date the oil is characterized by a very low degree of unsaturation
seeds oil for EMS (1.18%) means that this clone contains and this may be due to the high stability of date seed oil
a high amount of free fatty acids. This is frequently an during the extraction operations (Besbes et al., 2004).
indication for strong enzymatic hydrolysis in date seeds The measurement of UV absorbance is one of the
during harvesting, handling or oil processing (Gharby et al., methods for measuring the oxidation state of the oil
2012). The low acidity levels found in other dates seed oils (Rotich et al., 2020). It makes it possible to follow the
showed that this oil would be edible. evolution of peroxidation and to know the content of
Peroxide value (PV) is one of the most used secondary oxidation products. High concentration of
physicochemical tests to evaluate the quality of oils conjugated dienes and trienes lead to great values of
(Adejumo et al., 2021). It is a measure of the oxidative coefficient of extinction K232 and K270 (Li et al., 2021).
rancidity of oil due to poor harvesting and processing The K232, which measures the amount of conjugates
technologies used to extract oil as well as poor storage dienes, varied between 1.35 and 2.44. The secondary
conditions (Sampson, 2020). PV values were very low, it oxidation compounds of oils evaluated by measuring the
ranged from 1.06 mequiv O2/kg for IAH (Khalt abdelghani) extinction coefficient at 270 nm (K270) recorded values
clone to 5.61 mequiv O2/kg for KKL (Khalt khel) clone. ranging from 0.32 to 0.52. Spectrophotometric indices of
The high peroxide value of KKL seed oil (5.61 meq O2/ unheated EVOO were below the maximum levels indicated
kg) indicates that this seed oil is the most susceptible to by the (IOC, 2015). These results are comparable with
autoxidation. According to the study conducted by (Gotoh those obtained by Besbes et al. (2004) from the Deglet

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Alahyane, A. et al.

Nour and Allig varieties which have values for K232 and a proportion of the native chlorophylls is transformed into
for K270 (1.2-2.5) respectively, the value found for both pheophytins where the central Mg2+ ion of the porphyrin
varieties is 0.5, these reported values are lower to those ring is substituted by H+ (Datti et al., 2020). The study of
found by (Abdalla et al., 2014), for olive oil (K232: 2.86- pigments content in the 17 date seeds oils demonstrated
3.45 and K270: 0.32-0.62) and higher to those reported that there are differences in the pigments’ levels between
by (Gharby et al., 2011) for argan oil (K232: 1.02-1.49 and cultivars. These data showed that LHD (Khalt Lohmadi)
K270: 0.18-0.25). The difference observed at the level of clone had high levels of chlorophylls (21.65 mg/kg) and
these oils in the values of the absorbance coefficients pheophytin (75.68 mg/kg), whereas lower levels of these
K232 and K270 may be due to different extraction process pigments were detected in MEL (Mentouj lhaj lehbib) clone
of the oils studied, the content of phenolic compounds, the (6.56 and 21.85 mg/kg respectively).
presence of different unsaturated fatty acids, (Herch et al.,
2014) and oil storage conditions (Gharby et al., 2014). 3.2. Fatty acids content
The fatty acid (FA) composition is an essential indicator
3.1.2. Iodine value of the nutritional value of the oil. The results of the fatty
The iodine value gives a measure of the average degree acid analysis of date seeds oil,vary slightly within analyzed
of unsaturation present in fats and oils (Bouhlali et al., 2017) date seeds varieties and clones and are given in Table 3.
and is expressed in terms of the number of gram of iodine The most important acids found were oleic acid C18:1,
absorbed per 100 grams of the sample. This parameter is linoleic acid C18:2, lauric acid C12:0, palmitic acid C16:0,
used to assess stability in industrial applications, but it myristic acid C14:0 and stearic acid C18:0. They represented
does not define a specific fatty acid composition (Wu et al., together more than 98% of the total fatty acids found in
2011). Iodine value in this study ranged from 41.86 (g of the date seed oil. Tomsone et al. (2020) reported that date
iodine/100g of oil) for IAH (Khalt abdelghani) clone to seed oil may be regarded as oleic–lauric oil because oleic
59.98 (g of iodine/100g of oil) for LHD (Khalt Lohmadi). acid was most abundant, followed by lauric acid. The major
This result is in agreement with the finding of Dehdivan fatty acid found in date seeds oil was oleic acid showing
and Panahi (2017), who reported that the iodine value of an average amount ranging between 50.87% for BST(Black
Iranian date seed oil was in the range of 46–65 g/100 g oil. bousthammi) variety and 45.90% for KBN (Khalt bheir ngli)
Razzaq et al. (2019), determinates that the iodine value for clone. Diosady (2005) found that the oleic acid content of
date seed oil of kech District, Balochistan as 56.56 g/100g. 14 cultivars from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iraq of the date
This value is found within the range from 41.86 to 59.98 (g seed oil ranges from 41 to 59%, which could be a good
of iodine/100g of oil) obtained for the clones analyzed. source of C18:1 fatty acid. However, Besbes et al. (2004)
Our results are higher than those reported by Besbes et al. found a lower content of oleic acid (41.3–47.7%) in date
(2004), who found that the iodine value of date seed oil of seed oil extracted from Tunisian cultivars.
other varieties namely Deglet Nour and Allig are 44.1 g/100 g The linoleic acid presents the main polyunsaturated
of oil and 45.5 g/100 g of oil, respectively. In addition, the fatty acid which varied between 12.64 (MTN: Mentouj
values of the iodine value obtained in this study are also tissgharine clone) and 6.50% (EMS: Elmensoum clone).
higher than those of argan oil (102 mg/100 g), olive oil Our findings indicated that lauric acid level was the highest
(90.2 mg/100 g), soybean seed oil (134.5 mg/100 g) and among saturated fatty acids in all varieties and clones
sunflower oil (130 mg/100 g). According to Zine et al. agreeing with the findings of Diosady (2005) .This main
(2013) a high iodine-value shows that the oil contains a saturated fatty acid ranged from 19.03 (KBN: Khalt bheir
greater number of double bonds and has usually a reduced ngli clone) to 10.11% (MTN: Mentouj tissgharine clone).
oxidative stability. The high values obtained in this study There was not much variation in both palmitic (C16:0,
may be due to the fact that date seed oil contained high hexadecanoic) and stearic acid (C18:0, octadecanoic)
number of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) compared contents among different clones or cultivars.
to other oils. Generally, oil iodine-value (IV) is known to The SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs percentages as well as
predict and reflect the oil’s drying property (Wu et al., the MUFA/PUFA ratio were also calculated. Fatty acids
2011). Oils are classified into drying (IV=190), semi-drying content analysis showed that MTN seed oil has the lowest
(100<IV<130) and non- drying (<100) (Yau et al., 2020). amount of saturated fatty acid (34.52%), while the highest
However, the values of the iodine value obtained in this amount of saturated fatty acid was observed in KBN seed
study are lower than those reported by Mrabet et al. oil (45.46%). The level of unsaturated fatty acid content of
(2020), where the iodine value of the desert date kernel the date seed oil was very low for all varieties and clones
oil analyzed was found to be 98.73g /100g. seeds oils except for MTN clone (14.76%). The degree of
unsaturation of the analyzed date seeds oils was lower
3.1.3. Chlorophyll and pheophytin than those of common vegetable oils, this is due to the low
Chlorophyll is an essential compound in the linoleic acid content in date seeds oil. In spite of this low
development and metabolism of plants. It is still present level of unsaturation, date seeds oil may have interesting
to some extent in oil seeds and it is thermally decomposed potential for different uses such as a source of edible oils
into pheophytin pigment (Jock, 2011). This latter lead for human consumption or for medicinal uses (Gandul-
to dark and dull oil. It can promote the oxidation of the Rojas et al., 2000).
oil, and as consequence, reducing its storage stability The PUFA/SFA ratio varies between 0.14 and 0.42 among
(Aguebor-Ogie et al., 2021). During the extraction process, different cultivars. This ratio is an indicator for prandial

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 Table 3. Fatty acids composition of date pits oil.

C12:0 C14:0 C16:0 C18:0 C18:1 C18:2 C20:0 C18:3 C20:1 C22:0 C22:1
fatty acid Lauric Acid myristic Palmitic stearic acid oleic acid Linoleic acid arachidic linolenic Eicosenoic Behenic Erucic acid FSA MUFA PUFA P/S
(%) acid (%) acid (%) (%) (%) (%) acid (%) acid (%) acid (%) Acid (%) (%)

MTN 10.11±0.04g 9.47±0.24d 10.82±0.20bcd 3.43±0.14c 48.45±0.35def 12.65±0.04a 0.44±0.05a 2.11±0.04a 0.47±0.049a 0.25±0.04a 0.13±0.050a 34.52±0.35h 49.05± 0.25cde 14.76±0.09a 0.43±0.00a

EMS 15.93±0.40def 10.48±0.19abcd 11.89±0.15abc 4.75±0.20ab 47.46±0.09h 6.50±0.04g 0.59±0.04a 0.08±0.04c 0.40±0.04a 0.39±0.05a ND 44.03±0.55bcd 47.86±0.14gh 6.58±0.09h 0.15±0.00gh
f bcd bcd c a bc a c a a ab g a cd
EED 14.26±0.29 10.07±0.24 10.96±0.30 3.62±0.20 50.83±0.05 8.10±0.14 0.43±0.04 0.18±0.05 0.37±0.05 0.27±0.05 0.02±0.05 39.61±0.14 51.22±0.05 8.28±0.19 0.21±0.00b
b a cd c fgh efg a c a a ab fgh gh
LHD 17.36±0.20 11.30±0.20 10.81±0.24 3.77±0.14 47.93±0.09 6.55±0.09 0.45±0.04 0.10±0.04 0.34±0.05 0.27±0.05 ND 43.96±0.10 48.27±0.04 6.65±0.14 0.15±0.00gh

IKL 16.11±0.00cde 10.29±0.25abcd 10.60±0.10bcd 3.47±0.10c 49.44±0.05bc 7.67±0.09cd 0.46±0.09a 0.25±0.04c 0.39±0.05a 0.28±0.05a 0.02±0.05ab 41.21±0.60cdefg 49.85±0.15bc 7.92±0.14de 0.19±0.00c
bc d bcd c efgh b a c a a bcdef efgh bc
IAH 17.69±0.24 10.00±0.20 10.47±0.14 3.20±0.25 48.17±0.10 8.68±0.09 0.42±0.04 0.20±0.04 0.33±0.05 0.24±0.05 ND 42.02±0.04 48.50±0.15 8.88±0.04 0.21±0.00b

ZIE 14.52±0.20f 10.84±0.14abcd 12.09±0.25a 4.03±0.25abc 48.61±0.10cde 7.08±0.15de 0.48±0.05a 0.15±0.04c 0.38±0.04a 0.16±0.05a 0.01±0.05ab 42.12±0.65bcde 49.00±0.10de 7.23±0.20efg 0.17±0.00def

Brazilian Journal of Biology, 2024, vol. 84, e260771

def a ab abc def de a c a a bc def efgh
HFL 15.37±0.20 11.25±0.15 11.81±0.09 4.12±0.20 48.33±0.20 7.14±0.10 0.46±0.04 0.09±0.05 0.32±0.05 0.26±0.05 ND 43.27±0.55 48.65±0.25 7.23±0.15 0.17±0.00efg

KKL 15.91±0.24def 10.52±0.10abcd 10.75±0.09bcd 3.65±0.10bc 49.94±0.10b 7.53±0.10d 0.44±0.04a 0.25±0.05c 0.36±0.05a 0.29±0.05a ND 41.56±0.04defg 50.30±0.05b 7.78±0.15de 0.19±0.00c
bcd abcd d c bcd d a c a a ab bcdef bcd de
KHL 16.91±0.19 10.27±0.20 10.29±0.25 3.38±0.10 49.10±0.10 7.68±0.10 0.41±0.10 0.16±0.05 0.36±0.05 0.26±0.05 0.02±0.05 41.52±0.50 49.48±0.20 7.84±0.05 0.19±0.00cd
a ab bcd abc j def a c a a ab a i efgh
KBN 19.03±0.30 11.14±0.25 10.48±0.15 3.98±0.09 45.91±0.15 7.09±0.10 0.51±0.10 0.11±0.05 0.36±0.05 0.32±0.05 0.01±0.05 45.46±0.75 46.28±0.04 7.20±0.15 0.16±0.00fgh

BST 14.90±0.30f 10.10±0.10cd 10.86±0.19bcd 3.66±0.15bc 50.87±0.04a 7.53±0.10d 0.45±0.04a 0.12±0.05c 0.37±0.05a 0.30±0.04a ND 40.27±0.15fg 51.24±0.10a 7.65±0.15de 0.19±0.00c
f abcd abcd bc efg b a b a a ab efg efg b
MEL 14.64±0.100 10.56±0.00 11.16±0.10 3.87±0.19 48.28±0.10 8.39±0.09 0.47±0.04 0.72±0.05 0.38±0.05 0.26±0.05 0.06±0.05 40.96±0.10 48.72±0.10 9.11±0.15 0.22±0.00b

BRR 15.60±0.25ef 10.65±0.10abcd 11.05±0.25abcd 3.99±0.09abc 49.49±0.10b 6.97±0.09efg 0.49±0.04a 0.09±0.05c 0.35±0.05a 0.30±0.05a ND 42.08±0.10bcdef 49.84±0.15bc 7.06±0.04fgh 0.17±0.00efgh
bcde abcd abcd bc de g a c a a
BZG 16.05±0.25 10.98±0.19 11.08±0.25 3.87±0.09 48.83±0.19 6.72±0.09f 0.47±0.04 0.09±0.05 0.36±0.05 0.35±0.05 ND 42.80±0.20bcde 49.19±0.14de 6.81±0.04gh 0.16±0.00gh

ECT 17.57±0.20bc 11.07±0.20abc 10.95±0.19bcd 3.98±0.09abc 47.50±0.10gh 6.63±0.09g 0.50±0.04a 0.09±0.05c 0.34±00.05a 0.31±0.45a ND 44.38±0.30ab 47.84±0.15h 6.72±0.04h 0.15±0.00h
ef abcd a a i d a c a a bc i ef
IAS 15.06±0.25 10.65±0.19 12.21±0.15 4.87±0.09 46.0±0.09 7.63±0.14 0.60±0.04 0.12±0.05 0.40±0.05 0.34±0.05 ND 43.73±0.10 47.07±0.04 7.75±0.09 0.18±0.00de

Values are presented as means ± standard deviation (SD) of three replications. Data in the same column followed by different letters are significantly different from each other according to LSD test; ND: Non Detected.
SFA: saturated fatty acid, MFA: monounsaturated fatty acids, PUFA: polyunsaturated fatty acids and. P/S: polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids

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Quality characteristics of date seed oil
Alahyane, A. et al.

HDL-C trend (Bouhlali et al., 2017). Differences in the value and iodine value showed a positive correlation
fatty acid composition of different date seeds oil could with myristic and lauric acids as shown on the right
be explained by various factors including seeds genetic side of the diagram. An important correlation was also
variations, differences in oil processing, and/or different observed between oleic acid, and some chemical variables
harvest dates (Al‐Shahib et al., 2003). (chlorophyll and pheophytin) observed on the left side of
the diagram as indicated in the figure (Figure 1a). However,
3.3. PCA Analysis a negative correlation was presented and expressed by
the symmetry of the variables on each side of the y-axis.
The PCA was used to study the cultivars tendency based
The distribution of individuals dates varieties and clones
on their chemical composition as well as the relationship
(Figure 1b) based on the variables evolution showed the
between different varieties and clones of date fruits and
presence of a great variability between them. The varieties
their fatty acids composition. and clones “KBN, LHD, BRR, ECT, BZG, and HFL” were
Figure 1 presents a diagram that contains the variables correlated with lauric acid, myristic acid, peroxide value,
(a) and all cultivars labeled by their genotype name (b). iodine value, and FSA. However, “IKL, KKL, EED, KHL, IAH,
The chemical variables showed significant variability and BST” were correlated with oleic acid, chlorophyll,
between different date varieties and clones. More than pheophytin, and MUFA, observed in the left side of the
62.73% of the total variance was obtained and explained diagram. MTN clone was different from other cultivars,
by the two components (F1 and F2). the clone was found to be correlated with linoleic acid,
The first diagram (Figure 1a) shows the distribution of linolenic acid, eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, PUFA, and P/S
studied parameters and the relationships between them. ratio. On the other hand, EMS and IAS were correlated
A positive correlation was observed between the Acidity with arachidic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, behenic
index and some fatty acids (palmitic acid, stearic acid, acid, and Acidity %.
arachidic acid, and behenic acid). In addition, peroxide

4. Conclusion

Considering the high amount of fatty acids profile, the

good proximate acidity, iodine and peroxide levels found
in dates seeds oil, we can require the potential valorization
of this by-product in food, pharmaceutics, cosmetics and
other non-food industries.
This study of lipid fraction of date seeds oils may help
their industrial application. Thus, waste products, such as
seeds, from date industry, could serve as a source of edible
oil. Also, the results can be considered for a better use and
management of date seed, and therefore its sustainability.
Moreover, perhaps more research should be conducted, not
only to identify more characteristics of date seed oil, but
also for development of edible and non-edible products.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Centre of Analysis and

Characterisation (CAC) of the faculty of Sciences Semlalia
in Marrakesh for providing infrastructures and research
facilities, and the National Center for Scientific and Technical
Research (CNRST) in Rabat for the financial support.

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