Physico-chemical and functional properties of dried male date palm flowers

Publication date: Available online 22 July 2019Source: Food BioscienceAuthor(s): Sirine Karra, Haifa Sebii, Chema Borchani, Sabine Danthine, Christophe Blecker, Hamadi Attia, Souhail Besbes, Mohamed Ali BouazizAbstractThe physico-chemical, microstructure, thermal and functional properties of Deglet Nour male date palm flowers (MDPF) of Phoenix dactylifera L. were studied. The main objective was to add value to this discarded by-product as a functional raw material and assess its suitability to be incorporated into foods. The pollen-free flowers were dried at 40 °C. Then, a milling step was used to obtain the powdered MDPF. The results showed high amounts not only of dietary fibres (68%), especially insoluble fibre (64%), but also of proteins (14.8%), which confirmed the nutritional value of the MDPF and its possible use in dietetic products. The physical properties showed that dried MDPF were safe from deterioration, had a light colour suitable for incorporation, had an amorphous structure helpful for preservation and were thermally stable suggesting that MDPF could be a natural stabilizer. Moreover, MDPF showed interesting functional properties expressed by relatively high swelling values, and water and oil holding capacities (6.3 ml/g dry sample, 4.95 g water/g dry sample and 4.42 g oil/g dry sample, respectively), which may be helpful in foods to minimize some technical problems (e.g., improving emulsion stability in fatty products and avoiding syneresis).

Source: Food Bioscience - July 24, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research