Date and fruit bars: antioxidant response in healthy people
What it found
In 20 healthy young men, eating a date-based bar raised blood antioxidant markers more than a fruit-based bar over 3 hours, though most differences between the bars were small.
The bars were eaten in a crossover trial.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood phenolics after eating
Blood levels of total phenolic content rose after eating either bar and peaked at 120 minutes. The date bar led to higher levels than the fruit bar at 120 and 180 minutes.
Total antioxidant capacity
Total antioxidant capacity in the blood increased significantly 120 and 180 minutes after eating the date bar, but did not change significantly after the fruit bar. The average starting levels were 22.63 and 23.61 U per mL for the fruit and date bars, respectively.
MDA levels
MDA, a marker of oxidative stress, decreased significantly 180 minutes after eating the date bar, but did not change significantly after the fruit bar. Starting levels were about 19.83 to 20.11 nmol per mL.
SOD response
SOD levels responded significantly 120 minutes after eating the date bar, but showed no significant response up to 3 hours after the fruit bar. The date bar caused a 12.77% relative increase in SOD compared to the fruit bar.
Overall comparison
When the total 3-hour response was compared, only total phenolic content and SOD differed significantly between the two bars. Total antioxidant capacity and MDA did not differ significantly between the bars.
Other findings
Phenolic content in bars
The fruit-based bars had more free phenolic compounds than the date-based bars, while the date-based bars had more bound phenolic compounds. The amounts were 6.19 and 3.57 mg GAE per gram for free and bound in fruit bars, and 10.15 and 12.98 mg GAE per gram for free and bound in date bars.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, the relative changes in postprandial responses in T-AOC and MDA did not significantly ( p > 0.05) differ between DBBs and FBBs, except for TPC ( p = 0.04, paired t -test) and SOD ( p = 0.003, paired t -test).”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that the date bar increased total antioxidant capacity, decreased MDA, and raised SOD, while the fruit bar did not show these effects.
- They state that further studies with an extended experimental time are needed to confirm the current findings.
How it was done
Nutritional bars are popular, but no one had looked at how they affect antioxidant levels in the blood after eating. The authors wanted to compare a date-based bar and a fruit-based bar for their effects on oxidative stress markers.
Twenty healthy men aged 19 to 25 ate 140 g (510 kcal) of either a date-based bar or a fruit-based bar on two separate days, 5 to 7 days apart. Blood was taken before eating and at 60, 120, and 180 minutes after.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study in 20 healthy young men, so the results may not apply to women, older people, or people with health conditions.
- The study only followed participants for 3 hours after eating, so it cannot show what happens over a longer period.
- The study cannot show whether these short-term changes in blood markers lead to any long-term health effects.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Qassim University, Saudi Arabia; Qassim University Medical City, Saudi Arabia; Benha University, Egypt
The paper
- Title
- Postprandial Antioxidative Response to Ingestion of Formulated Date- and Fruit-Based Nutritional Bars by Healthy Individuals
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Alolyan MA, Alfheeaid HA, Alhowail AH, et al (2024). Postprandial Antioxidative Response to Ingestion of Formulated Date- and Fruit-Based Nutritional Bars by Healthy Individuals. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu16111794Free full textPubMed 38892726DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error