Palm tree syrup: nutritional composition of a natural edulcorant.

INTRODUCTION: Palm syrup is a typical product from the Canary Islands, traditionally produced from the sap of the tropical palm tree Phoenix canariensis. Its high caloric content has led to its increasing use as a health food supplement for athletes, children and elderly. Furthermore, demand for this natural syrup is continuously increasing due also to its medicinal uses in homeopathic medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Palm Tree syrup samples prepared with palm sap from primary producers in La Gomera island (Canary Islands, Spain) were analyzed for their nutritional composition (moisture, ash, sugars, fat, vitamins and minerals).

METHODS: 35 syrup samples from five different producing regions in La Gomera island were analyzed. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine sugars and vitamins and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (FAAS) was used to analyze the minerals.

RESULTS: Major carbohydrates were sucrose (37.8%), glucose (9.50%) and fructose (4.80%), respectively. The presence of arabinose could not be confirmed. Niacin was the water-soluble vitamin with the highest concentration with an average content of 0.003%. Fat content was found to be under 0.20%. Potassium was the mineral with highest contents (0.45%).

CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that palm tree syrup can play an important role as a sugar and mineral source in human nutrition, suggesting that future applications for this product could be developed.