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Comparative nutritive values of palm saps before and after their partial
fermentation and effective use of wild date (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb.) sap in
treatment of …

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Research Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences, 3(2): 173-176, 2008
© 2008, INSInet Publication

Comparative Nutritive Values of Palm Saps Before and after Their Partial
Fermentation and Effective Use of Wild Date (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb.)
Sap in Treatment of Anemia
1
Debmalya Barh and 2B.C. Mazumdar

1
Center for IP and TK, IIOAB, Nonakuri, Purba Medinipur, WB, India.
2
Department of Horticulture, Institute of Agricultural Science, Calcutta University,
35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata-700 019. India.

Abstract: Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer L.), W ild date (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb.) and Coconut
(Cocos nucifera L.) sap were analyzed before and after 24 hrs partial natural fermentation. All these three
species of palm saps showed high nutritive values. Total sugars, Ca Fe, Zn, Cu, P, niacin were highest
in fresh Date sap followed by male Palmyra which was richest in vitamin-A and Coconut was richest in
Na and K content. Thiamin, riboflavin and niacin showed dramatic increase in fermented Date and male
Palmyra sap with no significant change in micronutrients. Here we first time demonstrated that balanced
administration of fresh and fermented wild date sap significantly improve condition of hemoglobin
deficient male anemic patients.

Keywords: Anemia, Date palm, Nutritive value, Palm saps.

INTRODUCTION determined by volumetric and colorimetric methods [1 1 ]

Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer L.) and W ild date
(Phoenix sylvestris Roxb.) grown in arid regions and
Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) grown in coastal India
holds a prominent importance in Indian economy [1 ,2 ].
W hile Coconut palm is important for coir and oil
production, Palmyra and wild date are important for
gaggery [3 ] and for local consumption of fermented
products (Toddy, Nira, alcohol and vinegar) [2 ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ].
Coconut is extensively used for production of Toddy [8 ,9 ]
in southern parts of India. Here we demonstrated the
nutritive values of these three palm saps (both fresh
and partial fermented) and probably the first come
report on use of Date sap in treatment of anemia.
M ATERIALS AND M ETHODS
All experimental trees were about 15 to 20 yrs old
and first time used for tapping of sap. Eight plants of
each of these three species were selected from rural
parts of Purba Medinipur District of W est Bengal.
Fresh sap exudation was collected at morning between
4 to 6 am from inflorescence of Borassus flavbelifer
and Cocos nucifera and from phloem cutting of
Phoenix sylvestris[1 0 ] in a sterilized 250 ml conical
flask. Collected sap were brought to laboratory in
aseptic, sterile and air tight thermos and then filtered
with Watman filter paper. Analysis was performed
within two hrs for fresh sap and after 24 hrs fermented
sap. The estimation of different components were
and by standard conventional methods of analytical
chemistry. The pH of the extracts were measured by
pH meter. Elementary compositions were determined
by procedures of Ecrement and Bruelli [1 2 ] and by
atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Sodium and
Potassium was determined by flame photometric
method and Phosphorus was measured by colorimetric
method [1 3 ]. Vitamin B complex content was determined
according to Schiaffino et. al. [1 4 ]. Total proteins were
estimated by Lowry method [1 5 ] using serum albumin as
standard. Total sugars were measured by the method of
Dubios et. al.[1 6 ]. Vitamin A was assayed with a
modified method of Strohocker and Henning [1 7 ].
Ethanol estimation was done by slightly modified
method of Davis and Chace [1 8 ]. The bottles containing
the sap were kept loosely tight for 24 hrs to allow
natural fermentation in a chamber at 25°C. After 24
hrs the same parameters were estimated and the
average results of all replication are presented in
Table 1.
To study the effect of the Date sap on male
anemic subjects, a clinical study was conducted with
hemoglobin deficient male anemic patients of age
group between 21 and 31 and weights were between
43 kg to 63 kg. The average values of hemoglobin,
vitamin-B12, RBC count and reticulocyte count of
eight patients in each group before and after 20, 45,
and 60 days of sap administration were given in Table
2. All patients were given it general iron rich diet. To
compare the effectiveness of sap component especially

Corresponding Author: Debmalya Barh, Center for IP and TK, IIOAB, Nonakuri, Purba Medinipur, Wb721172, India.
Email: b.debmalya@gmail.com Tel: +91-9449550032
173
 Res. J. Medicine & Med. Sci., 3(2): 173-176, 2008

Table 1: 100m l. Sap contents before and after ferm entation: (before/after)
PARAM ETERS PLAN T SPECIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borassas flabllifer
--------------------------------------------------- Cocos nucifera Phoenix sylvestrys
Fem ale M ale
1. PH 7.30/5.90 7.20/6.00 7.40/5.20 7.20/5.10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Total Sugars(g) 11.60/8.20 13.20/8.80 9.30/4.50 13.80/7.90
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Total Proteins (m g) 15.30/8.20 19.70/8.30 13.30/7.30 14.80/9.80
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Total lipids(g) 0.04/0.01 0.08/0.03 0.03/0.01 0.05/0.02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Calcium (m g) 1.07/0.72 1.12/0.91 1.62/0.85 1.27/0.65
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. M agnesium (m g) 5.12/5.10 5.61/5.0 2.15/1.95 3.03/2.90
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Iron (m g) 1.03/1.00 1.50/1.15 1.20/1.01 3.26/3.20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Sodium (m g) 5.3 7/3.72 5.21/3.97 6.95/4.82 4.28/4.02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Potassium (m g) 1.67/1.02 1.91/1.31 3.16/2.24 2.03/2.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Cu (m g) 0.04/0.03 0.06/0.04 0.03/0.02 0.12/0.12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Zinc(m g) 0.07/0.06 0.04/0.04 0.03/0.03 1.02/1.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. P (m g) 1.71/1.12 1.85/1.20 1.55/1.07 2.38/1.46
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. N iacin(m g) 0.41/0.63 0.48/1.06 0.02/0.03 1.03/1.92
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Thiam in (m g) 0.04/0.12 0.06/0.32 0.02/0.05 0.06/0.57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Riboflavin(m g) 0.01/0.03 0.04/0.12 0.03/0.04 0.07/0.31
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Ascorbic acid (m g) 3.05/2.65 4.95/3.56 2.93/2.02 11.03/10.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Vitam in A (IU ) 62.0/56.0 74.0/68.0 43.0/37.0 68.0/62.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. Ethanol (% ) V/V 0.0/2.10 0.0/2.80 0.0/3.40 0.0/2.50

vitamin-B complex and iron, we divided patients into
three groups where each of the groups consists of 8
patients.
Group I: Iron rich diet + SAP + no vitamin B complex
Group II: Iron rich diet + SAP+ Cobadex (1 per day)+
Globac-Z (2 tea spoons)
Group III: Iron rich diet + NO SAP + Cobadex (1 per
day) + Globac-Z (2 tea spoons)
Group IV was control with 8 patients those were
only on iron rich diet. Patients were given a 250 ml.
fresh sap at morning and 200 ml. partial fermented sap
at evening for 60 days except patient groups III and
IV. Hemoglobin, vitamin-B12, RBC count, and
reticulocyte count were performed after 20, 45 and 60
days interval. Estimation of serum hemoglobin and
vitamin-B12 were done respectively by Cyanomith
hemoglobinometey and Chemiluminescence assay, RBC
and reticulocyte count were done by standard
laboratory method. Parameters are represented in
Table-2.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results:
Composition of Fresh Sap: Fresh Date sap contains
highest total sugars (13.80g/100ml) followed by
Palmyra male that also contains highest amount of
total proteins (19.70mg/100ml.) followed by female
Palmyra and Date (14.80mg/100ml). Mg content was
high in both male and female Palmyra than that of
Date and Coconut. W hile Fe (3.26 mg/100ml), Zn, Cu,
P were highest in Date, Coconut contains highest
amount of Na (6.95mg/100ml), and K (3.16 mg/100ml)
followed by Date and Palmyra. Among these four
saps under study, fresh Date sap contains highest
amount of niacin (1.03 mg/100ml) followed by male
Palmyra (0.48 mg/100ml) and significantly high level
of vitamin-C (11.03 mg/100ml). Male Palmyra
showed highest vitamin-A (74.0 IU/100ml) than that
of Date sap (68.0 IU/100ml). The fermentation capacity
in term of alcohol production was highest in
Coconut sap.

174
 Res. J. Medicine & Med. Sci., 3(2): 173-176, 2008

Table 2: M ean values of different param eters before and after 60 days treatm ent, each group consists of 8 patients.
Anem ia patient groups H em oglobin Vit-B12 RBC count Reticulocyte Count
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N orm al range 13.8 -17.2 gm /dl 160-810 pg/m l 4.5-6.5x 10 0 /µl 1-2%
Group-I Initial: 8.5 220 2.8 3.5
Age: 27, wt: 48 kg, 20 days: 9.1 280 3.2 2.9
BP: 120/80, Iron rich 45 days: 10.3 330 3.8 2.0
diet + Sap. 60 days: 12.2 400 4.2 1.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Group-II Initial: 8.6 250 2.9 3.5
Age: 28, wt: 52 kg, 20 days: 9.4 320 3.2 2.7
BP: 120/80, Iron rich 45 days: 10.6 380 3.9 2.0
diet + SAP+ Cobadex 60 days: 13.0 460 4.4 1.3
+ Globac-Z.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Group-III Initial: 8.5 225 2.7 3.6
Age: 27, wt: 50 kg, 20 days: 9.0 260 2.9 2.9
BP: 120/80, Iron rich 45 days: 9.7 310 3.4 2.1
diet + SAP+ Cobadex 60 days: 11.0 350 3.9 1.5
+ Globac-Z, N O sap.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Group-IV Initial: 9.2 230 3.0 3.1
Age: 25, wt: 47 kg, 20 days: 9.6 140 3.2 2.8
BP: 120/80, O nly 45 days: 10.1 260 3.5 2.4
iron rich diet. 60 days: 10.6 275 3.8 1.7

Composition of Fermented Sap: A significant
decrease in sugar, pH, Ca, P, vitamin-C content was
observed in all saps with production of 2.1 to 3.4%
alcohol after 24 hrs natural fermentation, but the Mg,
Fe, Na, K, Cu content remained unchanged. W hile
thiamin and riboflavin increased respectively 9 and 5
fold in fermented Date and male Palmyra sap, niacin
showed around 2 fold increase in all saps. Ascorbic
acid and vitamin–A content though decreased in
g e n e r a l, fe r m e n te d D a t e c o n t a i n e d h i g h e s t
(10mg/100ml) vitamin-C followed by male Palmyra
(3.56mg/100ml). Palmyra also contains highest vitamin-
A (68.01IU) followed by Date sap (62.0 IU). Coconut
sap produced highest amount of alcohol (3.4%) among
these four saps. The three months preserved saps at
4°C showed a dramatic result. Palmyra and Date sap
were with typical odor of bear and both were clear in
nature with 6% to 10% alcohol content, though were
contaminated.
Clinical Study: After finding the significant amount of
Sugars, Fe, Ca, Zn, P and vitamin-C in fresh and
vitamin-B complex in fermented Date sap with
unchanged micronutrients, was conducted a clinical trial
with male anemic patients after taking their prior
concern. A promising result was obtained. Comparing
patient groups I and IV, it was observed that 60 days
sap administration eventually increased hemoglobin,
vitamin-B12, RBC count and brought down reticulocyte
count to normal range in all anemic patients.
Comparing group I and III, it was evident that, alone
sap was more effective to increase serum hemoglobin,
Vitamen-B 12, RBC count than the Cobadex + Globac-
Z. Considering group I, II and III it was observed that
sap intake along with Cobadex and Globac-Z had
synergetic effect on improvement of all parameters than
that of sap or Cobadex + Globac-Z alone.
Discussions: Sugars from Phoenix sylvestris (Date
palm of India) and Borassus flabellifer (Palmyra or
Toddy palm) of Indonesia and India [1 9 ] are more
nutritious than cane sugar [2 0 ,2 1 ]. Fresh sap of Borassus
flabellife is good source of vitamin-B complex [2 1 ],
ascorbic acid [2 1 ] and sugar has medicinal values[2 0 ].
Cocos nucifera sap is used to cure nephritis and
bladder infections in M adagascar [2 3 ]. Fresh sap of
Phoenix sylvestris is highly rich in vitamin-C [1 0 ]. Fruits
of Phoenix dactylifera are used as a detersive and
astringent in intestinal troubles, treatment for sore
throat, colds, bronchial catarrh, to relieve fever,
cystisis, gonorrhea, edema, liver and abdominal troubles
and to counteract alcohol intoxication [2 4 ]. Volatile
substances from fresh and fermented Coconut sap had
been recently characterized [2 5 ]. W e analyzed and
reported here both fresh and partial fermented sap of
Borassus flabellifer, Phoenix sylvestris, and Cocos
nucifera. All saps have high nutritive value in term of
micronutrients and vitamins. Fresh and fermented Date
saps were especially rich in respectively iron and
vitamin-B complex. Balanced administration of fresh
and fermented Date sap alone can be used for the
treatment of hemoglobin deficient anemic patients and
to improve vitamin-B12 level. The sap along with
vitamin-B complex + iron tonic would improve
condition of the patients better than either the sap or
vitamin-B complex + iron tonic.

175
 Res. J. Medicine & Med. Sci., 3(2): 173-176, 2008
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