AUTHOR=Alsukaibi Abdulmohsen Khalaf Dhahi , Alenezi Khalaf M. , Haque Ashanul , Ahmad Irfan , Saeed Mohd , Verma Mahima , Ansari Irfan Ahmad , Hsieh Ming-Fa 

TITLE=Chemical, biological and in silico assessment of date (P. dactylifera L.) fruits grown in Ha’il region

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2023.1138057

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2023.1138057

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Dates palm (<italic>Phoenix dactylifera</italic> L.) fruits are among the most widely used fruits in the Middle East and African nations. Numerous researchers confirmed the presence of phytochemicals in <italic>P. dactylifera</italic> L. fruit and its by-products with broad-ranging biological activities.</p><p><bold>Objectives:</bold> In the present work, phytochemical and biological assessments of two different cultivars of date fruit (<italic>Shishi</italic><bold>M1</bold> and <italic>Majdool</italic><bold>M2</bold> grown in the Ha’il region of Saudi Arabia) have been carried out.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Date fruits were extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS),liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR)techniques. The lyophilized methanolic extracts were analyzed for their <italic>in-vitro</italic> antiproliferative andcytotoxicity against colon cancer (HCT116) cell line. To identify the possible constituents responsible for the bioactivity, <italic>in-silico</italic> molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies were carried out.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Both cultivars exhibited <italic>in-vitro</italic> anticancer activity (IC<sub>50</sub> = 591.3 μg/mL and 449.9 μg/mL for <bold>M1</bold> and <bold>M2</bold>, respectively) against colon cancer HCT-116 cells. The computational analysis results indicated procyanidin B2 and luteolin-7-O-rutinoside as the active constituents.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Based on these results, we conclude that these cultivars could be a valuable source for developing health promoter phytochemicals, leading to the development of the Ha’il region, Saudi Arabia.</p>