Determination of the variability of sugars in date fruit varieties

The consumption of date fruit has increased around the world. To meet the demand, numerous varieties of date palms are under commercial production. In this study, total sugars in 29 varieties of date fruits produced in Saudi Arabia were quantified and characterized. The quantification of sugars was done by HPLC using a carbohydrate column and RI detector. Structures of sugars were characterized by NMR methods. Total sugar content in 29 varieties of the dried date fruits ranged from 61.7 to 78.6 per cent. Among these, only Deglet Noor, Sukkari Al Qassim and Nabtat Ali dates contained sucrose. The rest of the varieties showed higher levels of fructose than glucose and were devoid of sucrose. The fructose and glucose existed as a mixture of β-D-fructopyranose and β-D-fructofuranose; and α-D-glucopyranose and β-D-glucopyranose, respectively. Date fruits contain only fructose, glucose and sucrose as carbohydrates. All date fruits in this study, except Sukkari Al Qassim and Deglet Noor, showed higher levels of fructose than other sugars, which support the health benefits of date fruits as dietary components

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<div><p>The red palm weevil (RPW, <i>Rhynchophorus ferrugineus</i>), one of the most widespread of all invasive insect pest species, is a major cause of severe damage to economically important palm trees. RPW exhibits behaviors very similar to those of its sympatric species, the Asian palm weevil (<i>R</i>. <i>vulneratus</i>), which is restricted geographically to the southern part of Southeast Asia. Although efficient and sustainable control of these pests remains challenging, olfactory-system disruption has been proposed as a promising approach for controlling palm weevils. Here, we report the cloning and sequencing of an olfactory co-receptor (Orco) from <i>R</i>. <i>ferrugineus</i> (RferOrco) and <i>R</i>. <i>vulneratus</i> (RvulOrco) and examine the effects of RferOrco silencing (RNAi) on odorant detection. RferOrco and RvulOrco encoding 482 amino acids showing 99.58% identity. The injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) from RferOrco into <i>R</i>. <i>ferrugineus</i> pupae significantly reduced RferOrco gene expression and led to the failure of odor-stimulus detection, as confirmed through olfactometer and electroantennography (EAG) assays. These results suggest that olfactory-system disruption leading to reduced pheromone detection holds great potential for RPW pest-control strategies.</p></div

Health-benefits of date fruits produced in Saudi Arabia based on in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory

Date fruits are reported to exhibit health-beneficial effects in addition to its nutritional value. Fruits collected from commercial date palm trees were sequentially extracted with water and methanol. All varieties of date fruits contained sugars, phenolics, triterpenoids, triglycerides, fatty acids and steroids, where sugars were the predominant components. Water and methanolic extracts of date fruits were assayed for antioxidant, antiinflammatory and human tumor cell proliferation inhibitory activities. In MTT antioxidant assay, methanolic extracts at 250 μg/mL exhibited moderate activity with absorbance values between 0.14 and 0.41. Water and methanolic extracts at 100 μg/mL inhibited lipid peroxidation (LPO) by 50–67% and 58–82%, respectively. In anti-inflammatory assay using cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and -2), water and methanolic extracts at 100 μg/mL showed COX-1 enzyme inhibition by 26–36% and 33–41%, and COX-2 by 45–48% and 48–52%, respectively. At 100 μg/mL concentrations, methanolic extracts of all date fruits showed marginal cell proliferation inhibitory activity against human gastric, prostate, colon, breast and lung tumor cell lines. The bioassay results suggest that varietal difference is not a significant factor among the 29 date fruits studied when compared for health-beneficial effects resulting from non-nutritional components present in it

Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of the representative insect Orco sequences (from eight different orders).

<p>The species belonging to each order are indicated with bullets of different colors. RferOrco and RvulOrco are located with other coleopteran species in red bullet (RferOrco and RvulOrco are underlined in black).</p

Response of dsRNA RferOrco injected (dsRNA) and no-injection (NI) RPW to odor stimulus (sugarcane, live individual, pheromone and ethylacetate) in Y-tube olfactometer assays.

<p>Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences (LSD at <i>P</i> < 0.05) between NI and dsRNA RPW to stimulus, air or “no response” groups. ns: non-significant.</p

Electroantennographic (EAG) response of dsRNA RferOrco injected (dsRNA), Nuclease free water-injected (NFW) and no-injection (NI) RPW to (4RS,5RS)-4-methylnonan-5-ol, (Pher1); 4(RS)-methylnonan-5-one (Pher2), and ethyl acetate (EA).

<p>The EAG response to different stimuli was subtracted to negative control (air) before proceeded for statistical analysis. The standard errors of the means of the 13 biological replicates (NI and dsRNA) or six for NFW are represented by the error bars. Different letters within each stimulus groups either Pher1, Pher2, or EA signify that the values were significantly different among NI, NFW and dsRNA treatments (LSD at <i>P</i> < 0.05).</p

RferOrco expression normalized with tubulin between dsRNA RferOrco injected (dsRNA) and no-injection (NI) RPW across the different post injection periods (10 d, 21 d, 35 d and 60 d).

<p>Letters indicate significant differences between control and dsRNA groups at different post injection periods (days) (LSD at <i>P</i> < 0.05).</p

Amino acid sequence alignment of RferOrco and RvulOrco with other coleopteran Orco proteins.

<p><i>D</i>. <i>ponderosae</i> [AEE62122.1], <i>M</i>. <i>caryae</i> [McOr1], <i>T</i>. <i>castaneum</i> [XP_008194693.1], <i>A</i>. <i>corpulenta</i> [AKC58535.1], <i>A</i>. <i>quadriimpressum</i> [AJF94638.2], <i>H</i>. <i>plumbea</i> [ADM35103.1], <i>H</i>. <i>oblita</i> [AEE69033.1], <i>H</i>. <i>parallela</i> [AEG88961.1], <i>T</i>. <i>molitor</i> [AJO62219.1]. Amino acids that are identical in all sequences are indicated by dark shading. The locations of the predicted seven transmembrane domains in the amino acid alignment are indicated with red lines (I-VII) (for RferOrco).</p