Antioxidant activity of Ajwa date extract for cosmetic ingredient

Abstract

Ajwa date fruit (DF) and Ajwa date fruit seed (DFS) are essential sources of phe- nolic compounds with many health benefits. To investigate the potentials of DF and DFS in neutralizing free radicals, they were extracted by three different methods: 100% ethanol, 70% ethanol, and hot water extract, and the results showed a difference be- tween them in terms of the effectiveness of antioxidants and the number of phenolic compounds. In the experimental study, it was observed that all three extracts containing flavonoids had antioxidant activity, and found that this activity differed between each extract in terms of concentration, where the 100% ethanolic extract of the seeds (DFS3) showed the most significant activity in the hydroxyl radical family, when using antioxidant assay DPPH and ABTS. It was also found that these extracts had different amounts of phenolic compounds, and the hot water extract of the fruit (DF1) recorded the highest content of phenolic compounds, up to 3008.66 μg/g. This study shows that the fruits and seeds of the Ajwa date palm have a good re- turn in terms of natural compounds that showed some biological activities, and although they differ in terms of effectiveness and activity, they can be considered a good component of cosmetic products.