Antioxidant Potential, Antitumor Activity and Phenolic Profile of Phoenix Dactylifera Linn

Objective: Phoenix dactylifera Linn (Fam.: arecaceae) or date fruits are commercial crops that notarized in holy quran. 70% aqueous MeOH extract of the fruits led to isolation of six compounds; its chemical structures were determined as, β-sitosterol (1), caffeic acid (2), ferulic acid (3), protocatechuic acid (4), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (5) and luteolin (6). Methods: The accurately weighed date fruits were washed, sliced and socked freshly in 70% methanol then exhaustively extracted under reflux for about 2 w and filtered, then fractionated by different solvent; finaly the butanol extract evaporated and fractionated on a polyamide glass column. Using Sephadex LH-20 column to purify the compounds obtained. In our preliminary study, the extracts and compounds were subjected to in vitro cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell line through the MTT assay and the antioxidant potential of the extracts and pure compounds were assayed through in vitro model using (DPPH) and phosphomolybdenum assays. Results: Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited promising antitumor activity with IC50 values of 6 and 10 μg/ml, respectively. Moreover compounds 1, 4, 5 and 6 showed cytotoxic activity with IC50 values of 13, 15, 21 and 35 μg/ml, respectively. The antioxidant potential of the compounds showed the inhibition percentage values (SC50) ranged from 4.36 to 10.25 μg/ml, while the total antioxidant capacity ranged from (583.66 to 702.00 mg AAE/g compound). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that; dates constituents are powerful as antioxidant and antitumor; hence it is the best potential for pharmaceutical applications.