Sensory Metabolite Profiling in a Date Pit Based Coffee Substitute and in Response to Roasting as Analyzed via Mass Spectrometry Based Metabolomics

Abstract

Interest in developing coffee substitutes is on the rise, to minimizing its health side effects. In the Middle East, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) pits are often used as a coffee substitute post roasting. In this study, commercially-roasted date pit products, along with unroasted and home-prepared roasted date pits, were subjected to analyses for their metabolite composition, and neuropharmacological evaluation in mice. Headspace SPME-GCMS and GCMS post silylation were employed for characterizing its volatile and non-volatile metabolite profile. For comparison to roasted coffee, coffee product was also included. There is evidence that some commercial date pit products appear to contain undeclared additives. SPME headspace analysis revealed the abundance of furans, pyrans, terpenoids and sulfur compounds in roasted date pits, whereas pyrroles and caffeine were absent. GCMS-post silylation employed for primary metabolite profiling revealed fatty acids’ enrichment in roasted pits versus sugars’ abundance in coffee. Biological investigations affirmed that date pit showed safer margin than coffee from its LD50, albeit it exhibits no CNS stimulant properties. This study provides the first insight into the roasting impact on the date pit through its metabolome and its neuropharmacological aspects to rationalize its use as a coffee substitute.

A Comprehensive Review of the Nutritional Composition and Toxicological Profile of Date Seed Coffee (Phoenix dactylifera)

“…Date seeds contained moderate quantities (7.2%-9.6%) of sterols and triterpenes, with only β-sitosterol and cycloartenol being identified. This substance class was not detected in coffee beans [41].…”

“…Nine different furans and furanones were detected in roasted date seeds, accounting for 5.9% to 26.5% of the total volatile mass. The most commonly detected compounds were 5-methyl-2-furaldehyde and 3-furfural [41]. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the consumption of date seed coffee would not exceed the set NOAEL, as only minor amounts of furan and furanones are included in a cup of coffee after grinding and brewing.…”

“…Slight increases and decreases in the fatty acid content may occur after the roasting processes of the date seed powder [24]. The roasted samples contain values that are two to three times higher than those found in the comparison group, which only contains unprocessed date seeds [41]. Most varieties have a comparatively low proportion of fat and protein, which amounts to only 5-10% of the total composition.…”

How Do Herbal Cigarettes Compare To Tobacco? A Comprehensive Review of Their Sensory Characters, Phytochemicals, and Functional Properties

“…Headspace GC-MS has been reported for analyzing hookah flavor of different brands and to reveal the burning effect on its aroma composition collected using SPME and has yet to be applied for herbal cigarettes. To aid in resolving the complex volatilome as typically encountered in herbal drugs and in the more complicated case of herbal cigarettes, which are composed of a mixture of several agents aside from the heat factor, multivariate data analysis ought to be applied to determine variations among tobacco products in terms of odor attributes. ,− For information regarding the different methods to evaluate the flavor characteristics of tobacco products, please refer to the review in ref . With regard to potential problems with the sensory analysis of herbal cigarettes, the loss of cigarette refreshing smell and odor over time is often experienced.…”

Metabolomics for Evaluating Flavor-Associated Metabolites in Plant-Based Products

“…However, at present, metabolomics-based approaches have not been adopted by the regulatory agencies for food quality assessment, although in some cases they have been found to be efficient, with clear benefits over conventional methods. For instance, metabolomics-based approaches have proved valuable to the food industry for the aroma analysis of fresh and processed PBPs [44][45][46][47]. It is pertinent to note that most of the current research in food metabolomics is focused on evaluating various quality attributes of processed/semi-processed food products.…”