ABSTRACT
Date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important crop, which is cultivated in many countries extending from North Africa to the Middle East including many of the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) [1]. The production of dates has been increased worldwide from 2.8 million tons in 1985 to 6.8 million tons in 2003 [2]. Oman produced about 240,000 metric tons in 2005 which contributed to around 3.5% of date global production [3]. Dates are frequently consumed among the Arabian people due to the awareness of its high nutritive value and are chemically composed of sugars (81%–88% mainly fructose, glucose, and sucrose), dietary Ÿber (~5%–8.5%) and small amount of protein, fat, ash, and high quantities of phenols [4].
