Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Immunomodulatory Properties of Algerian Phoenix dactylifera

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the antioxidant, antibacterial, and phagocytic activities of the hydroethanolic extract of Phoenix dactylifera fruit variety Mech degla. The antioxidant activity was determined through DPPH assay, ferrous ions chelating assay, and CUPRAC assay. The antibacterial activity against four bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae), was evaluated using the disc diffusion method, while the in vivo phagocytic activity was measured using carbon clearance method. The results showed that the extract exhibited good antioxidant activity with the IC50 values of 0.89 ± 0.3 g/l and 0.56 ± 0.24 g/l for DPPH and ferrous ions chelating activities, respectively, and the A0.5 value of 1.45 ± 0.15 g/l in the CUPRAC assay. Moreover, the extract showed notable antibacterial activity against all tested strains with the highest zone of inhibition (23.3 ± 0.3 mm) against S. pneumonia. Besides the extract did not show any significant toxicity, it was able to stimulate the phagocytic activity with a significantly faster carbon clearance rate at the dose of up to 100 mg/kg compared to the control group. Our results suggested that the Phoenix dactylifera fruit represents a promising source for the development of safe and effective immunomodulators as remedies to prevent and treat various microbial and immune-related diseases.