Evaluation of The Antioxidant Properties of Abid Rahim Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)fruit

Free radicals are implicated as a cause and consequence of diverse health pathologies including neuro-degenerative diseases, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes mellitus, cancer, nephropathies, inflammatory disorders, auto-immune diseases, idiosyncratic reactions etc. There is however a renewed interest in the study of plants for novel antioxidants. The present study evaluated the antioxidant properties of the ethanol extract of Date palm (Phoenix datylifera L.) fruit using 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and also conducted phyto-chemical analysis using standard protocols. The crude extract produced a reduced antioxidant effect compared to ascorbic acid. Specifically, at high test concentrations (0.50 and 0.25 mg/ml), the mean antioxidant activity of the extract was 65.7% and 55.2% respectively relative to 79.0% and 76.8% with ascorbic acid at the same concentration. The extract also induced an abysmally low antioxidant activity of less than 32% below 0.25 mg/ml. Phyto-chemical analysis revealed that the extract contained flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids and cardiac glycosides. Phoenix datylifera L. fruit could be a potential source for isolation of potent antioxidant principles..