Evaluation of date palm kernels’ biological activities and possible role in improving liver and kidney functions

Abstract

Objective: Global production of date fruit, Phoenix dactylifera, has exceeded 8 million tons, with thousands of tons of seeds ending up as waste. Here, a detailed functional study is presented on the biological activities of the date palm seed powder using chemical analysis carried out via in vitro and in vivo approaches to assess its medical application. Material and method: Powdered fresh dates kernel from Al-Baha city, Saudi Arabia were used to treat rats, HepG2, and HCT-116 cell lines. Toxicity and biochemical analyses were carried out on the cells. Result: Antibacterial tests on Al-Baha date palm kernel (AB-DPK) powder indicated no antibacterial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Protius mirabilis and Escherichia coli. Cytotoxicity tests of cancer cells revealed a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability in both HCT-116 and HepG2 cell lines after 24 h with IC50 of 43.2 ± 4.9 µg/ml and 63.7 ± 5.4 µg/ml respectively. Rats that were treated with AB-DPK for 48 h also showed no difference in hepatic and renal functions. However, oxidative stress assessment in both the liver and kidneys showed improvement in antioxidant levels by stimulating the production of CAT, GPx, SOD and GSH. In addition, the peroxidation parameter was also reduced in both the liver and kidney assays. Conclusion: The date seeds powder improved antioxidant activities in liver and kidney fractions of treated rats. Coupled with the possible anticancer effect on the colorectal and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, AB-DPK may prove a useful therapy for the treatment of some cancers, but this requires further investigation.

Keywords

• Date palm kernel
• Antioxidant
• Bioactivity
• Liver functions
• Renal functions
• Natural product