Abstract

Cytotoxicity evaluation and antioxidant activity of date seed oil from "Deglet-nour Tunisian cultivar" (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Author(s): Riadh Ben Mansour, Saloua Lassoued, Ines Dammak, Amel Elgaied, Souhail Besbes, Hamadi Attia, Basma Hentati

Date seed oil extract has been reported to be a rich source of natural antioxidant compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and the protective effect of date seed oil against oxidative stress. The antioxidant activity of this oil was evaluated by its scavenging effect on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Its potency to protect human epithelial cells against Fe2+ induced oxidative stress was assessed on the HeLa cell line. The Cytotoxic effect of this oil was evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results showed that DPPH radicals scavenging activity of date seed oilwas better than that of olive oil (IC50: 40, 54±4 mg/ml vs 60, 36±2, 56 mg/ml). The addition of different concentrations of date seed oil (1%, 5%, 10%) resulted in a significant protection of HeLa cells against the oxidative stress induced by Fe2+, evidenced by a decreasedMDAlevel. On the other hand, date seed oil was showed to be devoided of any cytotoxic activity. Our data suggest that date seed oil can be potentially used in food, cosmetics and/or pharmaceutics applications because of its high antioxidant capacity.