Enhancement of Functional Properties of Dairy Products by Date Fruits

A comprehensive review on date fruit for improving functional properties of dairy producrs, overview of properties, nutrition value, dairy products and functionality is provided. . Fruits are rich sources of carbohydrates, dietary fibers, certain essential vitamins and minerals. Phytochemical investigations have revealed that the fruits contain anthocyanins, phenolics, sterols, carotenoids, procyanidins and flavonoids, compounds known to possess multiple beneficial effects. Date pits are also an excellent source of dietary fiber and contain considerable amounts of minerals, lipids and protein. In addition to its dietary use, the dates are of medicinal use and are used to treat a variety of ailments in the various traditional systems of medicine. Preclinical studies have shown that the date fruits possess free radical scavenging, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, anticancer and immunostimulant activities. Date palm products were used in the manufacture of some dairy products as date juice milk, Fermented dairy products and ice cream.