Phoenix dactylifera L (Date palm) is one of the oldest known fruit crops in the world, and
the consumption of date fruits is no longer restricted to the Middle Eastern countries. Date
palm kernels are waste products of date fruit industry which are normally being discarded.
Based on their dietary fiber content; date palm kernels (DPK) have been proposed to be used
as fiber-based food supplement, caffeine free coffee alternative and animal feed ingredient.
Hence, utilization of such waste is highly desirable for the date industry. To accommodate these
benefits, and subsequent to some uses associated with DPK, this study sought to investigate the
biochemical and nutritional values of the Barhi date palm kernels (BDPK) grown in Iraq. The
results show that BDPK is an excellent source of dietary fiber (66.24 g/100g). Glutamic acid
was found to be the predominant amino acid, (0.674 g/100g), followed by Arginine and aspartic
acid (0.437 g/100g and 0.320 g/100g, respectively). Potassium was the most occurring mineral
in BDPK (2.39 g/kg), and the main sugars were sucrose and fructose (0.548 g/100g and 0.249
g/100g, respectively). Gas-liquid chromatography revealed that the main unsaturated fatty acid
(USFA) was oleic acid (40.927 mg/100g), while the main saturated fatty acid (SFA) were lauric
acid (20.270 mg/100g) and myristic acid (12.288 mg/100g). Furthermore, the BDPK depicted
considerable concentrations of vitamins, in which vitamin B5 (40.4 mg/100g) showed the
highest value. The results obtained indicate a strong potential for BDPK to be used in human
nutrition, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical applications and may provide an important economic
advantage through increasing the utilization of BDKP while also additive value will be added
to the residue.
The nature of micro- and nanoplastics and their harmful consequences has drawn significant attention in recent years in the context of environmental protection. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an overview of the existing literature related to this evolving subject, focusing on the documented human health and marine environment impacts of micro- and nanoplastics and including a discussion of the economic challenges and strategies to mitigate this waste problem. The study highlights the micro- and nanoplastics distribution across various trophic levels of the food web, and in different organs in infected animals which is possible due to their reduced size and their lightweight, multi-coloured and abundant features. Consequently, micro- and nanoplastics pose significant risks to marine organisms and human health in the form of cytotoxicity, acute reactions, and undesirable immune responses. They affect several sectors including aquaculture, agriculture, fisheries, transportation, industrial sectors, power generation, tourism, and local authorities causing considerable economic losses. This can be minimised by identifying key sources of environmental plastic contamination and educating the public, thus reducing the transfer of micro- and nanoplastics into the environment. Furthermore, the exploitation of the potential of microorganisms, particularly those from marine origins that can degrade plastics, could offer an enhanced and environmentally sound approach to mitigate micro- and nanoplastics pollution.