Production of New Functional Foods Using Siwe Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Abstract

Siwe date cultivar is one of the most important semi-dry date cultivars in Egypt, which characterized by its nutritional value and its bioactive components. So, this work aims to use of Siwe date fruits and some popular food staffs like chocolate, coconut, cinnamon and coffee in producing some new functional foods, as well as, evaluate the new products chemically, microbiologically and organoleptically. The obtained results demonstrated that, the highest protein and lipids content (4.66 and 12.17 %, respectively) as well as Caloric value (400.461 Kcal/100g) were recorded for the filled date with coconut paste, while date sample filled with cinnamon paste had the highest crude fiber (2.52%). Whereas, coffee filled dates possessed the highest polyphenol and flavonoid contents (556.25
mg GAE/100g and 165.65mg QE/100g, respectively). All new products had iron contents more than RDI, where the daily value ranged between 211.97 % - 313.86%. In addition, both of coconut and coffee filled date samples possessed higher contents of copper (3.084 and 1.734 mg/100g, respectively) and manganese (2.618 and 2.304 mg/100g, respectively) than those of RDI. The predominant phenolic acids for coconut and cinnamon filled dates are Gallic acid (819.68 and 855.46 ppm, respectively) followed by ferulic acid (102.15 and 202.82 ppm, respectively), while, opposite situation was observed for coffee filled date, where ferulic acid was the predominant (1182.06 ppm) followed by Gallic acid (787.76 ppm). Major flavonoids for coconut and cinnamon filled dates are Quercetin (277.84 and 312.08 ppm, respectively), followed by daidzein (114.28 and 103.29 ppm, respectively), then naringenin (49.3 and
81.6 ppm, respectively). Whereas, those of coffee filled date are Quercetin (2253 ppm) followed by Naringenin (1689.29 ppm) then Kaempferol (791.15 ppm). Both of cinnamon and coffee treatments led to improve the microbial quality of the new products comparing with coconut filled sample. In the same time, all new products are highly accepted organoleptically. In conclusion, the results suggested that, the prepared products are good sources of functional ingredients, such crude fiber, some minerals (Fe,
Cu and Mn) and bioactive compounds as phenolic acids and flavonoids with potentially desirable effects on human health.