Sustainable development of Medjool date cultivation in Jericho: improvement of quality management and evaluation of multifunctional properties

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., cv. Medjool) is a millenary cultivation and an important income generator for Palestinian people. Plantations are mainly located in the Jordan Valley. Actually, despite the potential high quality of Palestinian Medjool dates, the export to Europe still faces many difficulties due to product variability in size and loose skin. This study took place within the project “Sostegno alla riorganizzazione produttiva, manageriale e commerciale delle cooperative di datteri palestinesi ed egiziani” (AID 10601), implemented by Jean Paul II Foundation and funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. The main objective of the project is to enhance the quality management among farmers’ member of PFCA cooperative, based in Jericho, through the definition and introduction of new procedures and best practices. Along this goal, there is a first exploration of the main issues affecting the quality of dates production with particular attention for the antioxidant content of date fruits and seeds and the corresponding antiradical activity. The results reported in this paper consist in the data collected during a field research mission held in Jericho and Jiftlek in September 2017. The adopted methodology consisted, firstly, on the active involvement of the project stakeholders, including desk-based analysis of reports; conduction of semi-structured interviews with a sample of date producers, on field visits during the activities of harvest and sorting, meeting with local stakeholders; secondly, in an analytical approach aimed at the discovering of the potential biological properties and multifunctional applications of dates. Regarding the production of dates in Jericho, we should remark that the nutritional quality of date fruit is strongly related to the polyphenolic antioxidants. Though a high nutritional value and health benefits have long been demonstrated for date flesh (Baliga et al., 2011), date seeds demonstrate an excellent nutritional quality, due to high amounts in fibers, minerals, vitamins, and phenolic antioxidants (Habib et al., 2014). The characterization of the antioxidant profile of flesh and seed tissues of Medjool date by HPLC/DAD method and the evaluation of the antiradical properties assessed by DPPH test show the presence of different polyphenol classes, i.e. hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonoids and tannins. The first results of our investigation highlight the importance of P. dactylifera L. (cv. Medjool) as a promising source of functional ingredients and boost its potential use in the food and nutraceutical industries. Thus, Palestinian dates, with a systematic implementation of standardized procedure, could really improve the quality and becoming a widely exportable product on the European market.