title: Physico-chemical characteristics and fungal profile of four Saudi fresh date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars.
abstract: Physico-chemical and microbial analyses of four commercial fresh date cultivars (Sukari, Barhi, Khalas and Rothana) grown in Saudi Arabia were evaluated. Colorimetric assay indicated that Sukari had the highest total sugar content of 13.21g/100gFW while the lowest was in Rothana with 7.96g/100gFW. Total phenolic content (TPC) ranged from 76.74 to 122.20mgGAE/100gFW in Barhi and Rothana respectively, whereas antioxidant activity was highest in Sukari (105.99μgGAE/gFW) and lowest in Khalas (90.81μgGAE/gFW). The dominant fungal genera were Aspergillus sp., Rhizopus sp., Penicillium sp. and Sarocladium sp., occurring at 37, 18, 13 and 12% respectively. The highest fungal occurrence was in Barhi (30%) followed by Sukari (29%), Khalas (26%) and Rothana (15%). The TPC had a negative correlation with fungal occurrence whilst the total sugars had a positive correlation.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Australia; Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Fahad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Al-Asmari
authors.affiliation: Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Nilesh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nirmal
authors.affiliation: Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Australia; Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Mridusmita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chaliha
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mereddy
authors.affiliation: Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Australia; Australian Institute of Nano and Bioengineering (AIBN), Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), The University of Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Kinnari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shelat
authors.affiliation: Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: y.sultanbawa@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Yasmina
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sultanbawa
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000737:chemistry*; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis*; D065749:Phoeniceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D012529:Saudi Arabia
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010636:Phenols
keywords: Antioxidant activity; Fungal occurrence; Phoenix dactylifera L.; Total phenolics