S Mohan Jain
University of Helsinki, Finland
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: Nat Prod Chem Res
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L), a tree of life or a �??Bread of Desert�?� is widely grown in the hot arid regions and provides nutrition as a staple food and food security and raw material to the food industry. The date palm cultivation thrives in the hostile environment and its secondary metabolites are crucial to protect against both abiotic and biotic stresses. In recent years, plenty of research has been carried on the numerous health benefits of dates including identification and quantification of various classes of phytochemicals with a great potential uses in the booming industries of functional foods and nutraceuticals. The sale of herbal medicines is expected to get higher at 6.4% an average annual growth rate. Even though date fruits are rich in nutrition, minerals, sugar and phytochemicals and its global market share is extremely low. Date fruit needs to be promoted as a health food for infants, youth, healthy adults as well as patients with chronic diseases. However, the quality and consistency of the products are most challenging issues facing the plant-based medicines. They are contaminated with microbes and soil contaminants such as heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals which can cause qualitative and quantitative changes in the levels of medicinal metabolites. Overall production of medicinal metabolites in plants is affected by plant genotype, cultivation, harvesting, processing and distribution. Research will be highlighted on the phytochemical composition, nutritional value and potential health benefits of date fruit consumption, e.g., laxative, anti-inflammatory activity, nutrient deficiency for malnutrition prevention
Email: mohan.jain@helsinki.fi
