Evaluation of the Phytochemical Contents of Two Iraqi Date Palm Fruit Extracts (Phoenix dactylifera L. cvs. Berhi and Bream) and Assessment for Their Antioxidant Capacities

This paper aimed to measure the bioactive components in the extracts of two date palm cultivars (Berhi and Bream), including flavonoids, phenols, tannins, and carotene, and assess their antioxidant potential. This investigation was carried out in a laboratory at the pharmacognosy department of the College of Pharmacy on October 2023, at the University of Basrah, Iraq. Both qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analytical methods were used in the research, including an estimate of carotene, total polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, and primary phytochemical assays. as well as evaluation of their scavenging capacity using DPPH to determine their antioxidant activity in extracts from two date palm cultivars. The phosphomolybdate solution was used to measure the total antioxidants. Results: These studies showed that the fruits of the Berhi and Bream date palms cultivars have a high phenolic content, presented in milligrams for each gram from the extract, including total flavonoid content for Berhi and Bream cultivars 0.450mg, 0.333mg, total phenolic content 2.71mg for both varieties, total tannin content 0.2mg, 0.1mg, total carotene content 38.3microgram, 59.3microgram, furthermore IC50 and p-value were estimated for two cultivars 0.16 with p-value 0.189 for Berhi, 0.19 with p-value 0.234 for Bream. Conclusion: our study improved the antioxidant activity of both date palm cultivars making them suitable natural alternatives for synthetic products and promising candidates for the nutraceutical industries.