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Ajwa Dates Reduce Oxidative Stress in Egyptian Children with Autism: A Six-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

Article

Last updated: 01 Jan 2025

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Tags

Food Chemistry

Abstract

Background: Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduced antioxidant defenses contribute to the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Ajwa dates (Phoenix dactylifera) are recognized for their antioxidant properties, which may help neutralize free radicals and mitigate oxidative stress.

Aim: This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effects of Ajwa date consumption on oxidative stress markers in 131 Egyptian children with autism aged 3 to 12 years. The study compared changes in oxidant/antioxidant balance ratios between date-consuming and non-date-consuming groups. Additionally, it explored the relationship between autism severity and the effectiveness of date regimens in reducing oxidative stress, investigated long-term effects post-intervention, and assessed how baseline characteristics influence responses to date intake.

Method: Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: consuming three dates per day (47 children), five dates per day (42 children), or serving as a non-date control group (42 children). The intervention spanned 24 weeks, including a 12-week active consumption phase followed by a 12-week follow-up to assess long-term effects. Blood samples were collected at baseline, after 12 weeks of intervention, and 12 weeks post-intervention to measure oxidative stress markers, such as Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx1), and superoxide dismutase (SOD).

Results: Ajwa date consumption significantly improved oxidative stress markers in children with autism, independent of dose. After 12 weeks, both date regimens led to significant reductions in MDA/SOD and MDA/GPx1 ratios (p < 0.001). Compared to the non-date group, 82% of children in the date groups showed improvement, versus 40.5% and 47.6% in the non-date group for the MDA/SOD and MDA/GPx1 ratios, respectively (p < 0.01). The improvements were particularly pronounced in children with moderate to severe autism. While oxidant/antioxidant balance slightly declined three months post-intervention, it remained significantly better than baseline levels.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that Ajwa dates can effectively reduce oxidative stress markers in children with ASD, , independent of dose. Residual benefits persisted after discontinuing Ajwa date intake, though less pronounced than those observed during the intervention period. The improvements were strongly associated with date intake, regardless of baseline characteristics, suggesting that Ajwa dates are a promising complementary treatment for managing oxidative stress in children with ASD.

DOI

10.21608/ejchem.2024.329150.10649

Keywords

Antioxidant activity, Ajwa Dates, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Nutritional intervention, Reactive oxygen species, MDA/SOD Ratio, MDA/GPx1 Ratio

Authors

First Name

Ammal

Last Name

Metwally

MiddleName

Mokhtar

Affiliation

Community Medicine Research Department/Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

ammal_mok@yahoo.com

City

Giza

Orcid

0000-0003-0575-5202

First Name

Ebtissam

Last Name

Salah El-Din

MiddleName

M

Affiliation

Child Health Department/ Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

ebtissam2006@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Ehab

Last Name

Abdel Raouf

MiddleName

R

Affiliation

Department of Child with Special Needs/Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.

Email

ehabragaa@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-0899-8261

First Name

Amal

Last Name

Elsaied

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Clinical Genetics at Department of Children with Special Needs- National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.

Email

omar_elsaeid_amal@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-1569-7002

First Name

Engy

Last Name

Ashaat

MiddleName

A

Affiliation

Clinical Genetics Dept./ Human Genetics and Genome Research Institute, National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.

Email

nogy80@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-2116-1570

First Name

Walaa

Last Name

Yousef

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Biological Anthropology Department, Institute of Medical Research and Clinical Studies, NRC

Email

wy2006nrc@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-6459-400X

First Name

Alshaimaa

Last Name

Elkhatib

MiddleName

A

Affiliation

Child Health Department/ Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt,

Email

shimaadel80@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-7362-7216

First Name

Ghada

Last Name

Elshaarawy

MiddleName

A

Affiliation

Community Medicine Research Department/Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

dr.ghada237@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-7165-0594

First Name

Manal

Last Name

Shehata

MiddleName

A

Affiliation

Child Health Department/ Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

dr_manalabdelkader@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-8749-7010

First Name

Marwa

Last Name

El-Sonbaty

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Child Health Department/ Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

elsonbatymostafa@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-9965-4124

First Name

Hanaa

Last Name

Attia

MiddleName

R.M.

Affiliation

National Research Centre, Clinical and Chemical Pathology Dept., Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, Centre of Excellence, Cairo, Egypt

Email

hanarasmy2000@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-6401-8849

First Name

Amira

Last Name

Goda

MiddleName

A

Affiliation

Department of food Contaminants and Toxicology/Food Industry and Nutrition Research Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

aa.goda@nrc.sci.eg

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Saleh

Last Name

Al Swailem

MiddleName

M

Affiliation

President of Ethq Agri. Develop. and Land Reclam. co. 33 Abdel Khaleq Tharwat St. Abdeen, Cairo, Egypt

Email

blo-123@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Nihad

Last Name

Ibrahim

MiddleName

A.

Affiliation

Community Medicine Research Department/Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

nihad_amer@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Lobna

Last Name

El Etreby

MiddleName

A.

Affiliation

Community Medicine Research Department/Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute/National Research Centre (Affiliation ID: 60014618), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Email

lobnaeletreby@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Mona

Last Name

Anwar

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Basic Sciences and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Heliopolis University, El Salam City, Egypt.

Email

mona.anwar@hu.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

0000-0003-4806-0654

Volume

67

Article Issue

12

Related Issue

50716

Issue Date

2024-12-01

Receive Date

2024-10-18

Publish Date

2024-12-01

Page Start

585

Page End

599

Print ISSN

0449-2285

Online ISSN

2357-0245

Article File

EJCHEM_Volume 67_Issue 12_Pages 585-599.pdf

PDF . 1.6MB

Link

https://ejchem.journals.ekb.eg/article_390300.html

Detail API

https://ejchem.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=390300

Order

390,300

Type

Original Article

Type Code

297

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Chemistry

Publication Link

https://ejchem.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Ajwa Dates Reduce Oxidative Stress in Egyptian Children with Autism: A Six-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

Details

Type

Article

Created At

30 Dec 2024