Oil characteristics and fatty acid profile of seeds from three varieties of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) cultivars in Bushehr-Iran

Studies were conducted on properties of seed oils extracted from three date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) varieties Shahabi, Shekar and Kabkab, grown in Bushehr-Iran. The primary objective of this study was to extract seed-oil from the three native date varieties and then analyzed their fatty acids (FAs). Also the chemical parameters of PV, AV, p-anisidin, and Totox values of oils, as indicators of the quality and safety, and oxidative status of edible oils, as well as refractive index as an objective method for evaluation of rancidity were also evaluated. Date seeds are approximately 10% of the fruits weight. Seeds contained about 8.5% fat that can serve as a useful source of fatty acids to replace other vegetable oils. The following mean of values from the three varieties were obtained from samples: peroxide value (1.05), acid value (1.4), p-anisidine value (2.54), Totox (4.64) and refractive index (1.46). Also, flame ionization based detection gas chromatography (GC-FID) revealed that oleic acid was the primary fatty acid in all varieties. It was followed by lauric, myristic, palmitic, linoleic and stearic acids and trace amounts of the other fatty acids like undecylic, capric, nonanoic (pelargonic) and caprylic acids. Depending on the regional industry, these data suggest that the potential applications of date seed oil for humans and animals are feeding, cosmetic formulations such as in body creams, shaving soap and shampoos, and pharmaceutical products.Keywords: Seed oil (Phoenix dactylifera), fatty acid, gas chromatograph