Evaluation and assessment of nutritional composition for quality profiling of Phoenix dactylifera cultivars using multivariate analytical tools

Abstract

Eleven date palm fruits (DPF) of commercial importance were purchased from the local market and evaluated for their proximate and mineral composition and assessed by using multivariate analysis techniques. Carbohydrates are a major source of nutrients. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus are the major elements present. Principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify the relationship between different cultivars of DPF. PCA and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) revealed a consistent grouping of date palm cultivars with similar characteristics. Dissimilarity levels ranged from 0.90 to 43.5. The similarity between PCA and HCA analysis was evident in the study. Clusters obtained from the factor scores showed two main clusters. Though Shebeby and Lulu cultivars differ from each other, they were placed in the second main cluster due to their high dissimilarity from other cultivars. The results of the present investigation would help in grading the date palm cultivars based on nutritional composition.