Quality Characteristics and Oxidative Stability of Date Seed Oil During Storage

Abstract

Studies were conducted on some quality characteristics of date seed oil from two date palm cultivars ( Phoenix dactylifera L.): Deglet Nour and Allig. The following values were obtained for Deglet Nour and Allig cultivars respectively: unsaponifiable matter 8.92-7.76%, iodine value 45.49-44.08, total phenols 520.81-220.32µg/g oil, chlorophylls 0.86-0.58µg/g oil, viscosity 18.50-20.50mPa.s, refractive index 1.457-1.462, acidity 1.06-2.10mg KOH/g oil and peroxide index 16.00-25.00meq O 2 /100g oil. Lipid fractionation of date seed oil yielded 98.30-97.30% neutral lipids, 97.26-96.90% triglycerides, 0.25-0.18% phospholipids and 0.36-0.31% sterols. Gas-liquid chromatography revealed that the major unsaturated fatty acid was oleic acid (39.17-42.13%) while the main saturated fatty acid was lauric acid (24.34-22.56%). Date seed oil showed high medium molecular weight triglycerides (C32-C42, about 27%). Extinction coefficients at 232nm and 270nm increased slightly during 40days in oven (60°C) showing that date seed oil could be easily stored. The production of oil from date seeds provides the use of a renewable resource, and at the same time adding value to agricultural products.