Pits of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) have numerous nutritional benefits that could have wide-ranging applications. This study aimed to examine the effects of administering three extracts from powdered date pits on some basic physiological parameters, plasma constituents, reproductive hormones, and testicular histology in CD1 male mice. Three groups received doses of 100 mg/kg/day of lyophilized extract, a nonpolar fraction, and a polar fraction of date pits by oral gavage for 28 consecutive days. For the control, one group was administered a 1 mL/kg concentration of distilled water. The three different extracts significantly increased the plasma testosterone level but showed no significant effect on estradiol or luteinizing hormone levels, except for estradiol reduction in the polar extract group. The measured physiological or biochemical parameters or testicular histology also demonstrated no significant differences between the control mice and those mice treated with the three extracts, except for reductions in plasma urea in all extracts and in total protein in the nonpolar extract. Therefore, date pit extracts may potentially be used as a safe and effective dietary supplement. However, further investigation is needed.

ADINACO Research Group Faculty of Pharmacy Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences Sultan Qaboos University Muscat Oman

Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy College of Medicine and Health Sciences Sultan Qaboos University Muscat Oman

Department of Physiology College of Medicine and Health Sciences UAE University Al Ain UAE

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Al-Farsi M. A., Lee C. Y. Nutritional and functional properties of dates: a review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition . 2008;48(10):877–887. doi: 10.1080/10408390701724264. PubMed DOI

Chandrasekaran M., Bahkali A. H. Valorization of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit processing by-products and wastes using bioprocess technology - Review. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences . 2013;20(2):105–120. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2012.12.004. PubMed DOI PMC

Ghnimi S., Umer S., Karim A., Kamal-Eldin A. Date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.): an underutilized food seeking industrial valorization. NFS Journal . 2017;6:1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.nfs.2016.12.001. DOI

Al-Suwaiegh S. B. Effect of feeding date pits on milk production, composition and blood parameters of lactating Ardi goats. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences . 2016;29(4):509–515. doi: 10.5713/ajas.15.0012. PubMed DOI PMC

Al-Farsi M., Lee C. Nuts and Seeds in Health and Disease Prevention . Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier; 2020. Usage of date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seeds in human health and animal feed; pp. 447–452.

Sayas-Barbera E., Martin-Sanchez A. M., Cherif S., Ben-Abda J., Perez-Alvarez J. A. Effect of date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) pits on the shelf life of beef burgers. Foods . 2020;9(1):p. 102. doi: 10.3390/foods9010102. PubMed DOI PMC

Djaoudene O., Lopez V., Casedas G., et al. Phoenix dactylifera L. seeds: a by-product as a source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties. Food and Function . 2019;10(8):4953–4965. doi: 10.1039/c9fo01125k. PubMed DOI

Habib H. M., Ibrahim W. H. Effect of date seeds on oxidative damage and antioxidant status in vivo. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture . 2011;91(9):1674–1679. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.4368. PubMed DOI

Saryono, Warsinah, Isworo A., Sarmoko Anti-inflammatory activity of date palm seed by downregulating interleukin-1β, TGF-β, cyclooxygenase-1 and -2: a study among middle age women. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal . 2020;28(8):1014–1018. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2020.06.024. PubMed DOI PMC

El Fouhil A. F., Ahmed A. M., Atteya M., et al. Hypoglycemic effects of date seed extract. Possible mechanism of action, and potential therapeutic implications. Saudi Medical Journal . 2013;34(11):1125–1132. PubMed

Barakat A. Z., Hamed A. R., Bassuiny R. I., Abdel-Aty A. M., Mohamed S. A. Date palm and saw palmetto seeds functional properties: antioxidant, anti–inflammatory and antimicrobial activities. Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization . 2020;14(2):1064–1072. doi: 10.1007/s11694-019-00356-5. DOI

Hussain M. I., Semreen M. H., Shanableh A., et al. Phenolic composition and antimicrobial activity of different Emirati date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) pits: a comparative study. Plants . 2019;8(11):p. 497. doi: 10.3390/plants8110497. PubMed DOI PMC

Shehzad M., Rasheed H., Naqvi S. A., et al. Therapeutic potential of date palm against human infertility: a review. Metabolites . 2021;11(6):p. 408. doi: 10.3390/metabo11060408. PubMed DOI PMC

Tatar T., Akdevelioğlu Y. Effect of pollen, pit powder, and gemmule extract of date palm on male infertility: a systematic review. Journal of the American College of Nutrition . 2018;37(2):154–160. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2017.1364183. PubMed DOI

Saeed K., Tahir M., Lone K. P. Effect of Phoenix dactyliferia (date palm) pit powder on nicotine induced spermatotoxicty in adult albino mice. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association . 2015;65(1):43–48. PubMed

Abdallaha I. Z., Khattab H. A., Ragheb E. M., Yousef F. M., Alkreathy H. M. Date pits alleviate reproductive disorders in male diabetic rats glob. Journal of Pharmacy . 2015;9:208–221.

Elgasim E. A., Alyousef Y. A., Humeid A. M. Possible hormonal activity of date pits and flesh fed to meat animals. Food Chemistry . 1995;52(2):149–152. doi: 10.1016/0308-8146(94)p4195-l. DOI

Ali B. H., Bashir A. K., Alhadrami G. A. Reproductive hormonal status of rats treated with date pits. Food Chemistry . 1999;66(4):437–441. doi: 10.1016/s0308-8146(98)00060-0. DOI

Orabi S. H., Shawky S. M. Effect of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) seeds extracts on hematological, biochemical parameters and some fertility indices in male rats. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research . 2014;17:137–147.

Aldhaheri A., Alhadrami G., Aboalnaga N., Wasfi I., Elridi M. Chemical composition of date pits and reproductive hormonal status of rats fed date pits. Food Chemistry . 2004;86(1):93–97. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2003.08.022. DOI

Chen F. h., Li N., Zhang W., et al. A comparison between China-made Mindray BS-2000M biochemical analyzer and Roche cobas702 automatic biochemical analyzer. Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine . 2017;1(2):98–103. doi: 10.1016/j.flm.2017.06.006. DOI

Cosentino M. J., Nishida M., Rabinowitz R., Cockett A. T. Histological changes occurring in the contralateral testes of prepubertal rats subjected to various durations of unilateral spermatic cord torsion. The Journal of Urology . 1985;133(5):906–911. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)49278-0. PubMed DOI

Al-Alawi R. A., Al-Mashiqri J. H., Al-Nadabi J. S. M., Al-Shihi B. I., Baqi Y. Date palm tree (phoenix dactylifera L.): natural products and therapeutic options. Frontiers of Plant Science . 2017;8(8):p. 845. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00845. PubMed DOI PMC

Habib H. M., Ibrahim W. H. Nutritional quality evaluation of eighteen date pit varieties. International Journal of Food Sciences & Nutrition . 2009;60(sup1):99–111. doi: 10.1080/09637480802314639. PubMed DOI

El Arem A., Zekri M., Thouri A., et al. Oxidative damage and alterations in antioxidant enzyme activities in the kidneys of rat exposed to trichloroacetic acid: protective role of date palm fruit. Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry . 2014;70(2):297–309. doi: 10.1007/s13105-013-0302-3. PubMed DOI

Verma P. Effect of dates in lowering LDL level in geriatric cases. Heart Science Journal . 2016;10:5–8.

Juhaimi F. A., Ghafoor K., Özcan M. M. Physical and chemical properties, antioxidant activity, total phenol and mineral profile of seeds of seven different date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties. International Journal of Food Sciences & Nutrition . 2012;63(1):84–89. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2011.598851. PubMed DOI

Al-Shahib W., Marshall R. J. Fatty acid content of the seeds from 14 varieties of date palm Phoenix dactylifera L. International Journal of Food Science and Technology . 2003;38(6):709–712. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2621.2003.00723.x. DOI

El-Komy M., Saad H. O. Magda protective effect of date palm extracts on cadmium-induced infertility in male rats. Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine . 2017;69:2181–2190.

El-Tahan N. R., Mesilhy S., Abdelaziz H. Y. A. Effect of date palm pollen on fertility of diabetic male rats. Journal of Social Studies Education Research . 2019;3:207–223.

Marah I., Marbeen A., Mossa M., Marbut I., Allahwerdy Y. The probable therapeutic effects of date palm pollen in the treatment of male infertility. Tikrit Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences . 2005;1:30–35.