الفهرس 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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Abstract
Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are always considered as the most important desert crops all over the world due to its high nutritive ”tree of life”, medicinal and economic values. Egypt considered as the first country of the top ten date producers in the world (1,694,813 tons), (FAO, 2016).
This study was carried out the low quality date fruits (second degree) of Saidy (semi - dry variety) and unknown date (seedling fruits) from the New Valley governorate, Egypt. There is a large amount of the low quality fruits during the sorting and packing process in the date production factory.The obtained results can be summarized as follows:1- Date fruits: The fruits number/kg was 119 and 255 for the low quality Saidy date and Manthour (seedling) fruits, respectively The average weight of flesh and pit was 6.97 and 2.71, and 1.43 and 1.21 for Saidy and Manthour date fruits, respectively. Saidy date had the highest percentage of fruit pulp (83.00 %) and the lowest of pit (17.02%) compared to Manthour date, had 69.16 and 30.84%, respectively The pulp of Saidy and Manthour date fruits recorded 6.40 and 6.22 pH and 0.258 and 0.236 color (OD), respectively.Chemical composition of date fruits• The moisture content of date flesh was 14.28 and 11.85% for Saidy and Manthour dates, respectively.<• The total, reducing and non-reducing sugars were 75.12 and 63.25%, 69.21 and 60.55%, 5.91 and 2.70% for Saidy and Manthour fruits, respectively• The crude fiber, ash, crude protein and crude fat contents were (2.89, 2.47, 2.38 and 1.20%) and (4.81, 1.98, 2.46 and 1.41%) for Saidy and Manthour date fruits, respectively.• The total acidity value was 0.34 and 0.28% as malic acid, for Saidy and Manthour date fruits, respectively• Saidy and Manthour date fruits contained tannins as 0.415 and 0.491%, total phenols 2.60 and 2.96% and antioxidant activity values were 70.48 and 77.49%, respectively• Potassium was the major macro element (551.75 and 401.00 mg/100 g) followed by magnesium and calcium, while, the iron content (6.02 and 21.81 mg /100 g) was the predominant among micro minerals followed by zinc and copper in Saidy and Manthour date fruits, respectively 2- Date fruits residue (DFR) 2.1. Chemical composition of date fruits residue (DFR) The obtained results revealed that the Saidy and Manthour DFR contained 20.22 and 18.01% moisture, 2.87 and 3.68% crude protein, 1.25 and 1.04% crude fat, 1.91and 1.82% ash, crude fiber 15.66 and 21.97% and 73.75- 75.45% carbohydrate, respectively. The acidity (as malic acid) also was 0.21 and 0.14, respectively Saidy date fruits residue (DFR) contained 13.90, 12.71 and 1.19% of total, reducing and non-reducing sugars, respectively while, Manthour DFR contained 12.0, 10.98 and 1.02%, respectively 2.2. Dietary fiber fractionsThe total dietary fiber content was 62.97 and 65.01% of Saidy and Manthour DFR, respectively. These fibers composed from 48.86 and 46.17% insoluble and 14.11 and 18.84 % soluble dietary fiber, respectively Dietary fiber fractions were 21.44 and 23.42% cellulose, 4.99 and 5.33% hemicellulose, 12.03 and 15.29% pectin and 15.60 and 12.97% lignin, for Saidy and Manthour DFR, respectively. 2.3. Phytochemical propertiesThe results revealed that DFR contained 0.320 and 0.301% tannins and 1.92 and 1.36% total phenols, while the antioxidant activity values were 55.13 and 61.73%, for Saidy and Manthour date fruits residue DFR, respectively Potassium was the predominant element (501.36 and 492.44mg/100g) and manganese recorded the lowest value (0.210 and 0.215mg/100g) of Saidy and Manthour date fruits residue DFR, respectively.2.4. Effect of drying methods on DFR composition and properties Carbohydrate was the major component of the dried DFR samples; it was varied from 86.54 to 88.70%. The moisture, crude protein, ash and crude fat content varied from 4.15 to 4.40% and 4.02 to 4.85 %, from 3.70 to 3.87% and 4.11 to 4.91%, from 2.40 to 2.57% and 2.23 to 2.40%, and 0.95 to 1.11% and 1.19 to 1.32% of Saidy and Manthour DFR dried samples, respectively using drying methods; sun, oven, under vacuum- and microwave.