article · Journal of Scientific Research
Fourteen native date cultivars from Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria were evaluated for their nutritional composition, water activity, and colour parameters. Sugars represented the primary constituent across all cultivars, ranging from 54.14 to 75.56 grams per 100 grams of dry matter, followed by moisture, with minor quantities of protein, fat, and ash. Cultivars that matured early exhibited higher water activity levels than late-maturing dates. Sucrose predominated in the Deglet Nour and Aziza bouzid varieties, whereas other cultivars were primarily composed of equal proportions of fructose and glucose. Geographical origin did not significantly affect the overall proximate composition of the samples. However, colour profiles varied substantially between cultivars, with late-maturing Moroccan dates displaying higher lightness, redness, and yellowness values. Chemical profiling serves as an effective method for assessing fruit physiology and technological capability.
Date palms are essential agricultural crops across North Africa. Understanding the specific sugar profiles, moisture levels, and physical colour differences among regional cultivars helps clarify their biological and physical quality. This knowledge provides baseline data to assist agricultural specialists and food technologists in categorising cultivars based on their suitability for storage, consumption, and processing.
This research provides baseline compositional data that could inform post-harvest sorting, quality grading, and processing decisions for date producers and food processors. By identifying differences in sugar composition and water activity across varieties, it aids in selecting suitable cultivars for specific end products. The work remains at an early stage of exploratory characterisation, requiring further development before commercial processing standards can be formalised.
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Fourteen native date cultivars from different oases and regions of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria were examined for their approximate composition, water activity, and CIELAB parameters. Sugars were the predominant component in all studied date cultivars (~ 54.14 - 75.56 g/100g dry matter), followed by moisture content (~7.2 - 31.9%), along with small amount of protein (~1.9 - 3.3g/100g dry matter), fat (~ 0.1 - 0.44g/100g dry matter), and ash (~1.88 - 3.45g/100 g dry matter). Dates with early maturity had the highest water activity (0.78 - 0.87) in contrast to late maturing dates cultivars. In the Deglet Nour (Tunisia) and Aziza bouzid (Morocco) cultivars, sucrose is dominant, whereas, the majority of other cultivars were rich in fructose and glucose in comparable proportions. No significant changes were observed in the approximate composition of samples of different geographical origins. All cultivars show significant differences in color. The date with late maturity (from Assiane, Aziza bouzid and Boufeggous gharas locations of Morocco) were characterized by higher L*, a*, b* than the other date cultivars. Chemical composition of dates seems to be a good tool for fruit physiological and technological ability studies.Keywords: Date fruit; Reducing sugars; Moisture content; Maturity.© 2011 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved.doi:10.3329/jsr.v3i1.6062 J. Sci. Res. 3 (1), 139-149 (2011)
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DOI: 10.3329/jsr.v3i1.6062
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