Abstract

Fruits of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Belonging to the family of Arecaceae are very commonly consumed in many parts of the world and are a vital component of the diet in most of the Arabian countries. One of the miracles of Zamzam water has been collected by scientists and they have found certain peculiarities that make the water healthier, like a higher level of calcium. Hence, the present study was intended to evaluate ethanolic seed (Fruits of the date palm) extract of Phoenix dactylifera L for anticancer activities by Dalton’s lymphoma ascites (DLA) models. Acute toxicity study and preliminary phytochemical screening were also studied to evaluate the toxicity. No toxicity profile was observed in rats after oral administration of the ethanolic date palm extract at the dose of 5g/kg body weight. The dose of 200 mg/kg administered seed extract of Phoenix dactylifera L increased the average life span of DLA cells bearing mice from 20 to 54 days when compared to that of DLA cells induced group mice. Phoenix dactylifera L having the property of percentage increase in body weight and significant increased level of total WBC (10.88±0.44), neutrophils and a significant reduced levels of RBC (2.10±0.24), hemoglobin, platelet count, eosinophils and lymphocytes (7.50±0.57; 132.59±1.00; 4.03±0.06 and 33.65±0.62) when compared to the control mice (P<0.05). It can be concluded that the anticancer activity elucidated by Phoenix dactylifera L could be mainly due to the presences of high value class of compound like phenolic group as the major content in the seed extract.

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