Investigation on the quality characteristics, energy content and mineral elements of four commercial date varieties of Khuzestan Province

One of the most important date producing areas in Iran is Khusestan province. Sayer، zahedi and dairi are the main date variety cultivated with a 75% fraction. Due to its arid conditions this province has the third place in date palm production after Kerman and Hormozgan with 82641 tons date production. The major components in Date palm (Phoenix dactylifena L.) are carbohydrates، which are the most important parameters for commercial quality and nutritional value in this fruit. In this study we assessed the water content، total sugar and energy content of four major date varieties (Sayer، Dairi،Zahedi and Hallawi) from the Khuzestan province. Other proximate date compositions such as the protein content، dietary fibre and essential minerals were also investigated. The mentioned date varieties have more than 65% sugar content and were found to be a good source of energy (333. 82-349. 68 Kcal/100g)، daily recommended dietry fibre intake and mineral components such as iron and phosphorus.