Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 577–584

www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem

Date seeds: chemical composition and characteristic profiles

of the lipid fraction
Souhail Besbesa,*, Christophe Bleckerb, Claude Deroanneb,
Nour-Eddine Drirac, Hamadi Attiaa
a
Unité Analyses Alimentaires, Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Sfax, Route de Soukra 3038 Sfax, Tunisia
b
Unité de Technologie des Industries Agro-alimentaires, Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux,
passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
c
Laboratoire de biotechnologie végétale, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Route de Soukra 5038 Sfax, Tunisia

Received 18 February 2003; received in revised form 22 May 2003; accepted 22 May 2003

Abstract
The seeds of two date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars, Deglet Nour and Allig, from the Degach region—Tunisia, were
analysed for their main chemical composition. Studies were also conducted on properties of oil extracted from date pits. The fol-
lowing values (on a dry-weight basis) were obtained for Deglet Nour and Allig cultivars, respectively: protein 5.56 and 5.17%, oil
10.19 and 12.67%, Ash 1.15 and 1.12% and total carbohydrate 83.1 and 81.0%. Gas–liquid chromatography revealed that the
major unsaturated fatty acid was oleic acid (41.3–47.7%), while the main saturated fatty acid was lauric acid (17.8%) for the Deglet
Nour cultivar and palmitic acid for the Allig cultivar (15.0%). Capric, myristic, myristoleic, palmitoleic, stearic, linoleic and lino-
lenic acids were also found. Thermal profiles of both date seed oils, determined by their DSC melting curves, revealed simple
thermograms. Sensorial and physical profiles of Deglet Nour and Allig seed oil were based on studies of the CieLab (L*, a*, b*)
colour, oxidative stability, viscosity and microstructure. Results showed that date seed oil could be used in cosmetic, pharmaceu-
tical and food products.
# 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Date seeds; Oil; Fatty acids; Thermal profile; Sensorial profile

1. Introduction Devshony, Eteshola, & Shani, 1992; El-Shurafa, Ahmed,

& Abou-Naji, 1982; Hamada, Hashim, & Sharif, 2002).
The date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) has been an impor- However, these were focused on their chemical composi-
tant crop in arid and semiarid regions of the world. It tion only and not their thermal and sensorial properties.
has always played an important part in the economic Pits of date palm (seed) are a waste product of many
and social lives of the people of these regions. The fruit industries, after technological transformation of the
of the date palm is well known as a staple food. It is date fruits (Al-Hooti, Sidhu, Al-Otaibi, Al-Ameeri, &
composed of a fleshy pericarp and seed. Qabazard, 1997; Hobani, 1998; Khatchadourian,
The chemical composition and nutritional value of date Sawaya, Khalil, & Mashadi, 1983; Youssif, Abou Ali, &
flesh have been reported (Al-Hooti, Jiuan, & Qabazard, Bou Idreese, 1990; Youssif & Al-Ghamdi, 1999; Yous-
1995; Fayadh & Al-Showiman, 1990; Hussein, Mustafa, & sif, Alghamdi, Hamad, & Mustafa, 1996) or their bio-
Al-Zeid, 1976; Mohamed, Shabana, & Mawlod, 1983; logical transformation (Abou Zied, Abderrahman, &
Rygg, 1946; Salem & Hegazi, 1971; Vandercook, Hase- Baghlef, 1991; Abou Zied & Baghlef, 1983; Abou Zied
gawa, & Maier, 1977; Youssif, Benjamin, Idin, & Ali, & Khoja, 1993; Al-Obaidi & Berry, 1976; Nacib, Nacib,
1976). Few works have been published on date palm seeds & Bourdant, 1997; Nacib et al., 1999).
(Al-Hooti, Sidhu, & Qabazard, 1998; Al-Showiman, 1990; In some date-processing countries, such as Tunisia,
date seeds are discarded or used as fodder for domestic
* Corresponding author. Fax: +216-74-275-595. farm animals. In Tunisia, the mean annual yield of date
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Besbes). fruits is about 100,000 tons. From this, around 1000
0308-8146/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(03)00281-4
578 S. Besbes et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 577–584

tons of date seeds oils would be extracted. The aim of 2.3.1.2. Fat content. The weight of fat extracted from 15
this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of g of seed powder was determined to calculate the lipid
date seeds from two important cultivars grown in content. Result was expressed as the percentage of lipids
Tunisia and to determine fatty acid profiles, thermal in the dry matter of seed powder.
profiles and sensorial profiles of their lipid fraction.
2.3.1.3. Protein content. Total protein was determined
by the Kjeldahl method. Protein was calculated using
2. Materials and methods the general factor (6.25) (El-Shurafa et al., 1982). Data
were expressed as per cent of dry weight.
2.1. Seed material
2.3.1.4. Ash and mineral contents. To remove carbon,
Date palm fruits were obtained from the National about 2 g (powdered) of each cultivar, in a porcelain con-
Institute of Arid Zone (Degach, Tunisia). The seeds of tainer, was ignited and incinerated in the muffle furnace at
the two cultivars under investigation (Deglet Nour and about 550  C for 8 h. The total ash was expressed as per
Allig) were directly isolated from 50 kg of date fruit cent of dry weight. The mineral constituents (Ca, Na, K,
having the same origin, collected at the ‘‘Tamr stage’’ Fe and Mg) present in the date seeds of each cultivar were
(full ripeness) and kept at 10  C for a week. The seeds analysed separately, using an atomic absorption spectro-
were soaked in water, washed to get rid of any adhering photometer (Hitachi Z6100, Japan). The samples were
date flesh, and then air-dried. Their relative percentage prepared for analyses as described by Al-Showiman
weight compared with the weight of the fresh fruits was (1990). Phosphorus content (P) was determined by the
about 11.32% for the Deglet Nour variety and about phosphomolybdovanate method (AOAC, 1990).
10.7% for the Allig variety. Then, they were further
dried at about 50  C. Date pits, of each variety, were 2.3.1.5. Carbohydrate content. Carbohydrate content
separately milled in a heavy-duty grinder to pass 1–2 was estimated by difference of mean values, i.e.,
mm screens and then preserved at 20  C until ana- 100 (Sum of percentages of moisture, ash, protein and
lyses. One day after the lipid extraction, an appropriate lipids) (Al-Hooti et al., 1998; Barminas, James, & Abu-
quantity of powdered date seed was kept at 5  C. bakar, 1999).

2.2. Lipid extraction and preservation 2.3.2. Analysis of oil extract

2.3.2.1. Fatty acid composition. The oils were converted
Lipid extraction was carried out with a SER 148 Sol- to methyl esters using a boron trifluoride methanol
vent Extractor (Velp Scientifica, Europe) equipped with complex (14% w/v). The mixture was maintained at
6 Soxhlet posts. About 15 g of powdered date seeds 100  C during 1 h. The reaction was stopped with 0.5 ml
were used for oil extraction, with petroleum ether, of distilled water. Then, the extracted fatty acid methyl
40–60  C (Merck, for analysis), in each Soxhlet post. esters (FAMES) were dissolved in pure heptane (Merck)
The extraction was repeated at least 12 times for each for GC analyses.
variety. The operational conditions were: GC analyses were performed on a Hewlett-Packard
5890 Series II gas chromatograph (H.P. Co., Amsterdam,
 immersion time: 30 min with thimble immersed The Netherlands) equipped with a flame hydrogen ioni-
in boiling solvent; and zation detector and a capillary column (HP Inovax cross-
 washing time: 60 min of reflux washing. linked PEG, 30 m0.32 mm0.25 mm film). The column
temperature was programmed from 180 to 240  C at
After removing solvent, using a Rotavapor apparatus, 5  C/min and the injector and detector temperature were
the seed oil obtained was drained under a stream of set at 250  C. Nitrogen was the carrier gas. The identifi-
nitrogen and then stored in a freezer ( 20  C) for sub- cation of the peaks was achieved by retention times and
sequent physico chemical analyses. by comparing them with authentic standards analysed
under the same conditions. Peak areas of triplicate injec-
2.3. Analytical methods tions were measured with a HP computing integrator.

All analytical determinations were performed at least 2.3.2.2. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Ther-
in triplicate. Values of different parameters were mal properties were determined with a differential scan-
expressed as the mean  standard deviation (x  S.D.). ning calorimeter (DSC 2920 Modulated DSC-TA
Instruments, Newcastle, DE, USA). Oil (2  0.10 mg)
2.3.1. Chemical analysis of powdered seeds was weighed into a DSC-pan (SFI—Aluminium, TA
2.3.1.1. Dry matter. This was determined according to the Instrument T11024). The sample was quickly cooled to
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 1990). 50  C with a speed of 15  C/min, maintained at this
 S. Besbes et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 577–584 579

temperature for 15 min, and heated to 90  C with a Table 1

heating speed of 15  C/min. The same operation (cooling Chemical composition (dry basis) of date seeds from the two studied
cultivars. All values given are means of three determinations
and heating) was repeated and the DSC thermographs
were recorded during the second melting. An empty Component Cultivar
DSC-pan was used as an inert reference to balance heat
Deglet Nour Allig
capacity of the sample pan. The DSC was calibrated for
temperature and heat flow using eicosane (Tp=36.80  C, Dry matter (%) 90.600.18 91.400.09
H=247.70 J/g) and dodecane (Tp= 9.65  C, Fata 10.190.11 12.670.26
Proteina 5.560.02 5.170.78
H=216.73 J/g). Solid fat contents were determined from
Asha 1.150.02 1.120.05
the DSC melting curves according to Deroanne (1977). Potassiumb 2299.57 29321.42
Magnesiumb 51.72.40 58.41.33
2.3.2.3. Oxidation induction time. Oxidative stability Calciumb 38.80.22 28.90.39
was evaluated by the Rancimat method. Stability was Phosphorusb 68.31.84 83.62.44
Sodiumb 10.40.60 10.250.57
expressed as the oxidation induction time (h), measured
Ironb 2.300.21 2.210.26
with the Rancimat 679 apparatus (Metrohm AG, Her- Total carbohydratea 83.10.33 81.00.91
ison, Switzerland) using an oil sample of 2.5 g, warmed to
a
100  C and a purified air flow rate of 15 l/h. In the Ranci- In %, dry matter basis.
b
In mg/100 g of dry matter.
mat method, the volatile degradation products were trap-
ped in distilled water and determined conductometrically.
The induction time was defined as the time necessary Date pits from Deglet-Nour and Allig cultivars con-
to reach the inflection point of the conductivity curve tained 9.4 and 8.6% moisture, respectively. The ash,
(Halbault, Barbé, Aroztegui, & De La Torre, 1997). protein and fat contents (dry weight basis) in Deglet-
Nour and Allig seeds were 1.15 and 1.12%; 5.56 and
2.3.2.4. Colour. The CieLab coordinates (L*, a*, b*) 5.17% and 10.19 and 12.67%, respectively. Accord-
were directly read with a spectrophotocolorimeter MS/ ingly, total carbohydrate content of date pits ranged
Y-2500 (Hunterlab, In., Reston, VA, USA), calibrated from 83.1% for Deglet-Nour to 81.0% for Allig. These
with a white tile. In this coordinate system, the L* value results were in general agreement with those reported by
is a measure of lightness, ranging from 0 (black) to 100 Hamada et al. (2002), Al-Hooti et al. (1998) and El-
(white), the a* value ranges from—100 (greenness) to + Shurafa et al. (1982), but higher than those reported by
100 (redness) and the b* value ranges from—100 (blue- Hussein and El-Zeid (1975) and Devshony et al. (1992).
ness) to + 100 (yellowness). Twelve readings were taken Those differences may be attributed to the variability of
on each sample. the studied cultivars.
Absorbance of oil solutions in hexane were measured The date seeds also contained significant amount of
with a spectrophotometer UV-240 (Shimmadzu Cor- important minerals (Table 1). The potassium concen-
poration, Kyoto, Japan). tration was the highest, followed in descending order by
phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, sodium and iron.
2.3.2.5. Viscosity determination. Viscosity was followed This order has already been reported by Al-Hooti et al.
at 25  C with a Stress Tech Rheologica Rheometer (1998), Devshony et al. (1992) and El-Shurafa et al.
(Rheologica Instruments AB, Lund, Sweden) conducted (1982). However, Al-Showiman (1990) found that the
with a steel cone-plate (C40/4) under a constant shear calcium content is highly significant, while potassium,
rate of 100 s 1. sodium and magnesium come into second place.
Chemical composition of date seeds revealed that this
2.3.2.6. Microscopic study. Microscopic analyses were by-product could be valuable. In order to justify the
carried out according to Attia, Bennasar, Lagaude, extraction of date seed fat, it is necessary to study its
Hugodo, Rouvière, and Tarodo De La Fuente (1993). functional properties.
The observations were performed with scanning electron
microscope (SEM) Philips XL 30 (Philips, Leimeil- 3.2. Profiles of the date seed oil
Brevannes, France).
In order to seek added value of the lipid fraction of
date seeds, we were interested in determining fatty acid
3. Results and discussion composition, thermal, sensorial and physical profiles of
date seed oil from Deglet-Nour and Allig cultivars.
3.1. Chemical composition of date seed
3.2.1. Fatty acid composition
Table 1 presents the average compositions of Phoenix Fatty acid composition of the two studied seed oils is
dactylifera L. date seed of the two studied cultivars. shown in Table 2. In all ten fatty acids were present,
580 S. Besbes et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 577–584

Table 2 3.2.2. Thermal profile

Fatty acid composition of date seed oil (g/100 g of total fatty acid). All DSC is a fast and direct way to assess the quality of
values given are means of three determinations
oil (Gloria & Aguilera, 1998). Using this method, var-
Fatty acid Cultivars ious physical properties of date seed oil can be studied.
Date seed oil exhibited a simple thermogram after
Deglet Nour Allig
melting in the DSC (Fig. 1). The obtained peaks were
Capric C10:0 0.80 0.13 0.070.01 asymmetric and may indicate the presence of four com-
Lauric C12:0 17.8 0.60 5.810.25 ponents, having different weights, in Deglet Nour seed
Myristic C14:0 9.84 0.09 3.120.06
oil or with the presence of two components having dif-
Myristoleic C14:1 0.09 0.15 0.040.03
Palmitic C16:0 10.9 0.17 15.00.31 ferent weights in Allig seed oil. The fact that thermo-
Palmitoleic C16:1 0.11 0.19 1.520.01 grams seemed to correspond to a number of compounds
Stearic C18:0 5.67 0.20 3.000.03 higher than those clearly shown, suggests the presence
Oleic C18:1 41.3 0.76 47.71.11 of mixed triglyceride groups with different melting
Linoleic C18:2 12.2 0.5 21.00.29
points in the used conditions (Herrera & Anon, 1991).
Linolenic C18:3 1.68 0.71 0.810.38
SAFA 44.3 0.96 27.00.66 After total solidification, mixed glyceride crystals could
MUFA 41.45 1.10 49.21.15 be formed by intersolubility. They are associated into
PUFA 14.0 1.62 21.80.68 different crystalline groups with different melting points.
SAFA, saturated fatty acids; MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acids;
Deglet Nour seed oil exhibited a melting peak
PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acid. ( 2.66  C), a melting enthalpy (67.50 J/g) and an onset
temperature ( 19.01  C) slightly different from those of
four of which were unsaturated. The most abundant Allig seed oil ( 3.29  C, 71.87 J/g and 21.72  C
fatty acids of date seed oil were oleic (C18:1), linoleic respectively) (Table 3). This was due to the higher level
(C18:2), palmitic (C16:0), myristic (C14:0), and lauric of MUFA and PUFA in Allig seed oil (Section 3.2.1.).
(C12:0) which together composed about 92% of the total Fig. 2 illustrates that solid fat content decreases when
fatty acids. The major fatty acid found in those cultivars temperature increases. It was constant for temperatures
was oleic acid, ranging from 41.3% for Deglet Nour above 15  C. This corresponds to an entire liquefaction
seed oil to 47.7% for Allig seed oil. This is in agreement of date seed oil. At lower temperatures, solid fat content
with previous reports (Al-Hooti et al., 1998; Al-Showi- was relatively higher in Deglet Nour seed oil than in
man, 1990; Devshony et al., 1992). However, Al-Hooti Allig seed oil. This can be explained by the fact that
et al. (1998) found a higher content of oleic acid Deglet Nour seed oil had a higher SAFA content (Sec-
(53.3–58.8%) in date seed oil extracted from United tion 3.2.1).
Arab Emirates varieties. Fatty acid composition of date
seed oil seems to vary slightly with cultivars. 3.2.3. Sensorial and physical profiles
Devshony et al. (1992) reported that date seed oil may To determine sensorial profile of date seed oil, colour,
be regarded as an oleic–lauric oil because oleic acid was oxidative stability, viscosity and microstructure were
most abundant, followed by lauric acid. Al-Hooti et al. studied.
(1998) showed also that date seed oils were oleic–linoleic
or oleic–palmitic types. In this study, Deglet Nour seed 3.2.3.1. Colour. Many different techniques were used to
oil was regarded as an oleic–lauric oil, while Allig seed evaluate colour of frying oil objectively, including col-
oil was an oleic –linoleic oil. In general, date seed oil is orimetric kits (Croon, Rogsted, Leth, & Kiutamo, 1986)
characterized by the presence of five major fatty acids and colorimeters, such as the Lovibond (Al-Kahtani,
(C18:1, C18:2, C16:0, C14:0 and C12:0); oleic fatty acid 1991) and Agtron (Warner, Orr, Parrot, & Glynn,
(C18:1) was always most abundant in date seed oil. 1994). UV absorption, although outside the visible
Deglet Nour seed oil showed a higher saturated fatty spectrum, was also related to colour changes (Mazza &
acid content (SAFA: 44.3%) than Allig seed oil (SAFA: Qi, 1992; Melton, Jafar, Sykes, & Trigiano, 1994). In
26.3%) (Table 1). This can be explained by the presence this study, we compared L*, a* and b* parameters of
of more lauric acid and myristic acid in Deglet Nour Deglet Nour and Allig seed oils. CieLab coordinates
Cultivar. Allig seed oil contained higher amounts of (L*, a*, b*) of seed oil from the two studied date culti-
linoleic and oleic acids and, in general, more UFA vars are shown in Fig. 3. Deglet Nour cultivar showed a
(unsaturated fatty acids), which makes it more sensitive higher L value and lower a* and b* values. This means
to oxidation. that Deglet Nour seed oil was lighter-coloured than
The degree of unsaturation of these date seed oils was Allig seed oil. Such a colour seems to attract consumers
lower than that of common vegetable oils, since date (Hsu & Chung, 1998).
seed fat had a much lower linoleic acid content. In spite The CieLab (L*, a*, b*) values of other vegetable oils,
of this low level of unsaturation, date seed oil may have such as palm, soybean, sunflower, olive, and corn ran-
interesting potential for different uses. ged from 63.4 to 69.5, 3.8 to 4.4 and 9.2 to 10.4,
 S. Besbes et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 577–584 581

Fig. 1. Melting thermograms of seed oils from the two studied date cultivars (— Deglet Nour, - - - Allig).

Table 3
Thermal parameters, from DSC melting curves, of seed oil from the
two studied date cultivars. All values given are means of three deter-
minations

Parameter Cultivar

Deglet Nour Allig

Transition temperatures ( C)
T1 – 15.231.53
T2 – 8.740.32
T3 2.660.53 3.290.14
T4 8.410.01 7.200.14

Onset temperature ( C) 19.010.42 21.721.45

Pick temperature ( C) 2.660.53 3.290.14 Fig. 3. CieLab coordinates (L*, a*, b*) of seed oil from the two stud-
Melting enthalpy (J/g) 67.500.72 71.870.08 ied date cultivars (& : L*, &: a*, : b*).

respectively (Hsu & Yu, 2002). This shows that the date
seed oil b* values were higher than those of other vege-
table oils. Date seed oils were more yellow-coloured
than vegetable oils studied by Hsu and Yu (2002). This
may suggest the presence of more yellow pigments (car-
otenoids) in date seed oils. Deglet Nour seed oil showed
another colour particularity: Hunter a* negative value
( 0.81) was markedly lower than the Hunter a* of
common vegetable oils.
Allig seed oil showed some absorbance in the UV-C
(100–290 nm), UV-B (290–320 nm) and UV-A (320–400
nm) range, whereas Deglet Nour seed oil showed
Fig. 2. Solids–temperature curves, determined with DSC method, for absorbance only in the UV-C and UV-B range (Fig. 4).
seed oil from the two studied cultivars (& Deglet Nour, * Allig). In the UV-B and UV-A ranges, the wavelengths of
582 S. Besbes et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 577–584

of butter without the use of primary colorants, such as

carotenes and annattos, commonly used in the oil and
fat industry (Oomah et al., 2000).

3.2.4. Oxidative stability

The results of the Rancimat test are shown in Table 4.
Stability, expressed as the oxidation induction time (h),
was about 45 h for Deglet Nour seed oil and about 33 h
for Allig seed oil. This difference may be explained by
the fact that Allig seed oil contained more MUFA and
PUFA than Deglet Nour seed oil. The latter may also
have a higher antioxidant content, e.g. a-tocophérol and
phenolic compounds, which are well known as food
lipid anti-oxidants. A linear regression based on the
oleic/linoleic ratio and the contents of phenols and
tocopherols, in virgin olive oil, showed a good correl-
ation with the oxidative stability measured by Rancimat
(Aparicio, Roda, Albi, & Guttiérez, 1999). A strong
negative correlation was also observed between linoleic
acid and oil stability measured by Rancimat (Salvador,
Aranda, Gomez-Alonso, & Fregapane, 2001). A high
correlation was observed between total polyphenol
content and oxidative stability of olive oil by Rancimat
(Caponio, Alloggio, & Gomez, 1999; Montedero, Ser-
villi, Baldioli, Selvaggini, Miniati, & Macchioni, 1993;
Papadoupoulus & Boskow, 1991; Salvador et al., 2001).
The contribution of phenolic and orthophenolic com-
pounds to the oxidation stability was about 51%; the
contribution of fatty acids was 24%, and those a-toco-
pherols, carotenoids and chlorophylls even less (Apar-
icio et al., 1999).
The oxidative stability of date seed oil was higher
Fig. 4. Ultra violet visible spectra of date seed oils. Figure derived
from scan (l=200–290) of oil diluted 1:800; from scans (l=290–400) than that of most vegetable oils and comparable to that
of oil diluted 1:100 and from scans (l=400–800) of oil diluted 1:10, all of olive oil. This may be explained by the low content of
in hexane. A: Allig, D: Deglet Nour. PUFA in date seed oil and in olive oil compared to the
common vegetable oil.
ultraviolet light responsible for most cellular damage,
date seed oil can shield against UV-B and UV-A radia- 3.2.5. Viscosity
tion. Thus, date seed oil may be used in formulation of Table 4 shows that the viscosity of Deglet Nour seed
UV protectors that provide protection against both oil was lower than that of Allig seed oil (18.30 mPa.s
UV-A and UV-B. The optical transmission of date seed against 49.00 mPa.s) in spite of the fact that the latter
oil was comparable to that of raspberry seed oil, espe- contained more UFA (Section 3.2.1). This difference is
cially in the UV range (290–400 nm). This is comparable likely due to Deglet Nour seed oil’s high medium- and
to titanium dioxide preparations as sun protection fac- short- chain fatty acid contents (such as C12:0 and C14:0)
tors for UV-B (SPF) and UV-A (PFA) (Oomah, Ladet, compared to Deglet Nour seed oil. An obvious trend
Godfrey, Liang, & Girard, 2000). in the relationship between fatty acid chain length
Allig seed oil contained more yellow colouring than
Deglet Nour seed oil, as indicated by the absorbance
(1.20 against 0.45) at 440–460 nm for 1% oil in hexane. Table 4
Oxidation induction time and viscosity of seed oil from the two
Date seed oil also contained more yellow colouring than studied date cultivars
raspberry seed oil which is characterized by an absor-
bance ranging from 0.08 to 0.11 at 440–460 nm, studied Cultivars
by Oomah et al. (2002) under the same conditions. This Deglet Nour Allig
confirms the results obtained with the CieLab Miniscan
Induction time (h) 44.800.43 33.260.46
instrument. This yellow colour, which include carot-
Viscosity (mPa.s) 18.300.40 49.000.50
enoids, is beneficial, since it stimulates the appearance
 S. Besbes et al. / Food Chemistry 84 (2004) 577–584 583

Fig. 5. SEM (scanning electron microscopy) observation of seed oil from the two studied date cultivars (a: Deglet Nour, b: Allig).

and viscosity was observed (Geller & Goodrum, 2000; much cellular damage. Date seed oils could easily be
Gustone, Harwood, & Padley, 1986). The presence of conserved due to their high oxidative stability. Regard-
double bonds also influences oil viscosity. ing these specificities, the value of this by-product in
It is worth noting that the viscosity of Deglet Nour cosmetic and food industries may be justified. However,
seed oil is lower than that of most vegetable oils and the safety of date seed oil must be tested before using it
similar to the oleic acid and raspberry seed oil studied as an ingredient in the food or cosmetic industries.
by Oomah et al. (2000).

3.2.6. Microstructure Acknowledgements

Scanning electron micrographs of the oil samples
showed similar structures (Fig. 5). Light areas are seen, We thank Mr. Fakhfakh Zouheir responsible for
corresponding to individual structures and dark areas U.S.C.R. Microscopy for observations in S.E.M. and
corresponding to diffuse structures. The average size Mr. Hammami Mohamed, responsible for U.S.C.R.
of an individual structure is about 0.5–5 mm. Allig seed spectrometry, for chromatographic analysis.
oil presented a denser structure which may also be
related to the higher viscosity observed for this oil. In
the food industry, the texture of fat-containing products References
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Abou Zied, A. A., & Khoja, S. M. (1993). Utilization of dates in the
fermentative formation of citric acid by Candida lipolytica. Zentral
Microbiology, 148, 213–221.
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