New Constituents from the Leaves of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) of Saudi Origin

The phytochemical analysis of the butanolic extract from the leaves of date palm of Saudi origin resulted in the isolation of three major constituents, oleanolic acid (1), vanillyl alcohol (2), and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-d-glucoside (3), which had not been isolated from this plant or previously reported. Together, compounds 1 and 2 account for 1.0% of the butanol extract, which represents 0.4% of the mass of the dried leaves. The isolation of other known compounds for this plant such as fatty acids, lutein, and sucrose was also achieved in this study. The characterization and identification of the isolated compounds were conducted on the basis of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analyses. The findings of the current study will definitely increase the knowledge about the contribution of the constituents of this plant to its well-known nutrition, corrosion inhibition, and antimicrobial properties.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Cellulose Triacetate Obtained from Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Trunk Mesh-Derived Cellulose

Cellulosic polysaccharides have increasingly been recognized as a viable substitute for the depleting petro-based feedstock due to numerous modification options for obtaining a plethora of bio-based materials. In this study, cellulose triacetate was synthesized from pure cellulose obtained from the waste lignocellulosic part of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). To achieve a degree of substitution (DS) of the hydroxyl group of 2.9, a heterogeneous acetylation reaction was carried out with acetic anhydride as an acetyl donor. The obtained cellulose ester was compared with a commercially available derivative and characterized using various analytical methods. This cellulose triacetate contains approximately 43.9% acetyl and has a molecular weight of 205,102 g·mol⁻¹. The maximum thermal decomposition temperature of acetate was found to be 380 °C, similar to that of a reference sample. Thus, the synthesized ester derivate can be suitable for fabricating biodegradable and “all cellulose” biocomposite systems.