Chemical characterisation and the anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and antibacterial properties of date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Date fruit, Phoenix dactylifera L. has traditionally been used as a medicine in many cultures for the treatment of a range of ailments such as stomach and intestinal disorders, fever, oedema, bronchitis and wound healing. Aim of the review: The present review aims to summarise the traditional use and application of Phoenix dactylifera date fruit in different ethnomedical systems, additionally the botany and phytochemistry are identified. Critical evaluation of in vitro and in vitro studies examining date fruit in relation to anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and antimicrobial activities are outlined. Key Findings: The ethnomedical use of Phoenix dactylifera in the treatment of inflammatory disease has been previously identified and reported. Furthermore, date fruit and date fruit co-products such as date syrup are rich sources of polyphenols, anthocyanins, sterols and carotenoids. In vitro studies have demonstrated that date fruit exhibits antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic activity. The recent interest in the identification of the numerous health benefits of dates using in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that date fruit and date syrup have beneficial health effects that can be attributed to the presence of natural bioactive compounds. Conclusions: Date fruit and date syrup have therapeutic properties, which have the potential to be beneficial to health. However, more investigations are needed to quantify and validate these effects

Rebirth, devastation and sickness: analyzing the role of metaphor in media discourses of nuclear power

International audienceNuclear power plays an important but controversial role in policies to ensure domestic energy security, fuel poverty reduction and the mitigation of climate change. Our article construes the problem of nuclear power in terms of social discourse, language and public choice; specifically examining the role that metaphors play in the policy domain. We empirically analyze metaphors as framing devices in nuclear energy policy debates in the UK between April 2009 and March 2013, thereby capturing the impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. We employ documentary analysis of major UK national broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, using electronic bibliographic tools to extract the metaphors. We then map these metaphors using a Type Hierarchy Analysis, which examines how elements of the target domain (energy technologies and policies) originate from a different source domain. Type hierarchies identify and categorize metaphors, defining the affectual and emotional responses associated with them, providing us with grounded insight into their role in shaping discourse and as a consequence influence public engagement with energy policy. Our analysis highlights three emergent domains of discourse metaphors and discusses the implications of their deployment. Metaphors were found to be classified into three different categories: Rebirth (Renaissance), Devastation (Apocalypse, Inferno, Genie and Bomb) and Sickness (Addiction and Smoking)

The Antibacterial Activity of Date Syrup Polyphenols against S. aureus and E. coli

 Plant-derived products such as date syrup (DS) have demonstrated antibacterial activityand  can  inhibit  bacteria  through  numerous  different  mechanisms,  which  may  beattributed to bioactive compounds including plant-derived phenolic molecules. DS is richin polyphenols and this study hypothesized that DS polyphenols demonstrate inherentantimicrobial  activity,  which  cause  oxidative  damage.  This  investigation  revealed  thatDS  has  a  high  content  of  total  polyphenols  (605  mg/100  g),  and  is  rich  in  tannins(357 mg/100 g), flavonoids (40.5 mg/100 g), and flavanols (31.7 mg/100 g) that areknown potent antioxidants. Furthermore, DS, and polyphenols extracted from DS, themost  abundant  bioactive  constituent  of  DS  are  bacteriostatic  to  both  Gram  positiveand  Gram  negativeEscherichia  coliandStaphylococcus  aureus,  respectively.  It  hasfurther been shown that the extracted polyphenols independently suppress the growthof bacteria at minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 30 and 20 mg/mL forE. coliandS. aureus,and have observed that DS behaves as a prooxidant by generating hydrogenperoxide that mediates bacterial growth inhibition as a result of oxidative stress. At sub-lethal MIC concentrations DS demonstrated antioxidative activity by reducing hydrogenperoxide, and at lethal concentrations DS demonstrated prooxidant activity that inhibitedthe growth ofE. coliandS. aureus. The high sugar content naturally present in DS didnot significantly contribute to this effect. These findings highlight that DS’s antimicrobialactivity is mediated through hydrogen peroxide generation in inducing oxidative stressin bacteria. </p

Chemical characterisation and the anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and antibacterial properties of date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

  Ethnopharmacological relevance Date fruit, Phoenix dactylifera L. has traditionally been used as a medicine in many cultures for the treatment of a range of ailments such as stomach and intestinal disorders, fever, oedema, bronchitis and wound healing. Aim of the review The present review aims to summarise the traditional use and application of P. dactylifera date fruit in different ethnomedical systems, additionally the botany and phytochemistry are identified. Critical evaluation of in vitro and in vitro studies examining date fruit in relation to anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and antimicrobial activities are outlined. Key findings The ethnomedical use of P. dactylifera in the treatment of inflammatory disease has been previously identified and reported. Furthermore, date fruit and date fruit co-products such as date syrup are rich sources of polyphenols, anthocyanins, sterols and carotenoids. In vitro studies have demonstrated that date fruit exhibits antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic activity. The recent interest in the identification of the numerous health benefits of dates using in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that date fruit and date syrup have beneficial health effects that can be attributed to the presence of natural bioactive compounds. Conclusions Date fruit and date syrup have therapeutic properties, which have the potential to be beneficial to health. However, more investigations are needed to quantify and validate these effects.</p

Date syrup–derived polyphenols attenuate angiogenic responses and exhibits anti-inflammatory activity mediated by vascular endothelial growth factor and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in endothelial cells

  Bioactive components such as polyphenols, present in many plants, are purported to have anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic properties. Date syrup, produced from date fruit of the date palm tree, has traditionally been used to treat a wide range of diseases with etiologies involving angiogenesis and inflammation. It was hypothesized that polyphenols in date syrup reduce angiogenic responses such as cell migration, tube formation, and matrix metalloproteinase activity in an inflammatory model by exhibiting anti-inflammatory activity mediated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the prostaglandin enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in endothelial cells. Date syrup polyphenols at 60 and 600μg/mL reduced inflammation and suppressed several stages of angiogenesis, including endothelial cell migration, invasion, matrix metalloproteinase activity, and tube formation, without evidence of cytotoxicity. VEGF and COX-2 expression induced by tumor necrosis factor–alpha at both gene expression and protein level was significantly reduced by date syrup polyphenols in comparison to untreated cells. In conclusion, polyphenols in date syrup attenuated angiogenic responses and exhibited anti-inflammatory activity mediated by VEGF and COX-2 expression in endothelial cells.  </p