The Benefits of Ajwa Dates

Ajwa has a long list of benefits attached to it online, from stronger bones to protection from black magic. This post goes through the main claims one at a time and says what the evidence actually shows. Some hold up. Many come from lab or animal work only. A few, such as the claim that dates raise good cholesterol, are not supported by the one human study we found.

Where Ajwa comes from

Ajwa is a date of Madinah, Saudi Arabia. In Malaysia it is also sold under the market name Kurma Nabi. The fruit is small, roundish and near-black, with finely wrinkled skin and a soft bite. There is more on the variety in the black gold of dates: kurma Ajwa.

Calcium, phosphorus and other minerals

USDA FoodData Central gives full nutrient figures for Medjool and Deglet Noor dates. These are not Ajwa, but they show what dates in general provide per 100 g.

Medjool has 64 mg calcium, 62 mg phosphorus, 696 mg potassium, 54 mg magnesium, 0.9 mg iron and 6.7 g fibre. Deglet Noor has 39 mg calcium, 62 mg phosphorus, 656 mg potassium, 43 mg magnesium, 1.02 mg iron and 8.0 g fibre.

Potassium is the mineral dates carry in quantity. The calcium is modest. Dates are also sugary: 66.5 g of total sugars per 100 g for Medjool and 63.4 g for Deglet Noor.

Ajwa itself was analysed in a 2013 study. Its fruit was 39.06% fructose, 26.35% glucose and 11.01% fibre (Zhang et al., 2013). So Ajwa is high in sugar too, with a good amount of fibre.

Antioxidant activity

The same 2013 study, from Michigan State University, tested ethyl acetate, methanol and water extracts of Ajwa. At 250 μg/mL they inhibited lipid peroxidation by 88, 70 and 91%. At 100 μg/mL they inhibited the COX-1 enzyme by 30, 31 and 32% and COX-2 by 59, 48 and 45%, which the authors class as anti-inflammatory assays (Zhang et al., 2013).

A 2022 study measured an Ajwa fruit extract’s antioxidant activity as DPPH IC50 326.65 µg/ml and FRAP 20.91 mM FeSO4/g, with a total phenolic content of 35.44 mg GAE/g (Abdelghffar et al., 2022).

These are test-tube results. They show that compounds in Ajwa are active in the lab. They do not show that eating Ajwa has the same effect inside the body.

Kidneys

The 2022 study above also tested the extract in rats. 42 male rats were split into six groups. Some received Ajwa extract (0.25 or 0.5 g/kg) for 21 days and some were given cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug for which kidney damage is a main limiting issue. The extract, especially at 0.5 g/kg, improved kidney function, anaemia and antioxidant markers in the cisplatin-treated rats (Abdelghffar et al., 2022). This is an animal study. It has not been shown in people.

Cholesterol and blood fats

A common claim is that Ajwa lowers LDL and raises HDL cholesterol. The one human study found for this claim does not support that. In a 2009 pilot study, 10 healthy people ate 100 g a day of Medjool or Hallawi dates for four weeks. Their total, LDL and HDL cholesterol did not change significantly. Fasting blood sugar and triglycerides did not rise, and triglycerides fell by 8% after Medjool and 15% after Hallawi (Rock et al., 2009). Ajwa was not tested.

Blood sugar

A 2011 study in the UAE measured the glycaemic index of five date varieties (Fara’d, Lulu, Bo ma’an, Dabbas and Khalas) in 13 healthy volunteers and 10 people with type 2 diabetes. Values in the healthy group ranged from 46.3 to 55.1, and the diabetic group’s results were very similar. The authors concluded these dates have a low glycaemic index and did not cause significant blood sugar spikes in the diabetic participants. They added that the findings point to potential benefits of dates for people with diabetes when eaten as part of a healthy balanced diet (Alkaabi et al., 2011). Ajwa was not one of them. Anyone with diabetes should still ask their doctor how many dates suit them.

Pregnancy, labour and bleeding after birth

Ajwa is often said to speed up labour and reduce bleeding after birth. The research is on dates in general, not Ajwa. In a 2011 study in Jordan, 69 women ate six dates a day for the four weeks before their due date and were compared with 45 women who ate none. The date group needed less induction and augmentation of labour, and spontaneous labour occurred in 96% of them against 79% (Al-Kuran et al., 2011).

A 2024 meta-analysis of 48 studies found that eating dates in late pregnancy shortened labour and reduced the need for induction, and that dates after birth reduced post-delivery bleeding. It also rated the overall quality of the evidence as unacceptable, with a high risk of bias in most studies, and called for better trials (Salajegheh et al., 2024). Talk to your midwife or doctor before relying on dates in pregnancy.

Male fertility

The human studies on sperm that we found used other parts of the date palm, not the fruit. A 2024 randomised trial gave 80 men aged 20 to 35 with low sperm count, poor motility or abnormal sperm shape either 6 g of date palm pollen powder a day or the drug pentoxifylline for 90 days. The pollen group had better sperm concentration, count, motility and morphology than the drug group (Mirzaei et al., 2024). That is pollen, not Ajwa.

A 2018 systematic review looked at date palm pollen, pit powder and gemmule extract. It reported positive effects on male hormone levels, sperm motility and quality, and said the limited number of studies means more research is needed (Tatar and Akdevelioğlu, 2018).

The only study on the fruit itself that we found for this is in rats. In 2017, 48 male Wistar rats were split into six groups, and some were given dichloroacetic acid (DCA) in their drinking water for two months, with or without an aqueous date extract. The extract reduced the oxidative damage DCA caused in the testes (El Arem et al., 2017). The abstract does not name the variety.

Ajwa and black magic: what the hadith says

The black magic belief comes from hadith, not from research. In Sahih al-Bukhari, Sa’d reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “He who eats seven ‘Ajwa dates every morning, will not be affected by poison or magic on the day he eats them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5445)

Imam al-Bukhari records a similar report from Sa’d in his Book of Medicine, under the chapter “The use of ‘Ajwa dates as medicine for magic”: “If Somebody takes seven ‘Ajwa dates in the morning, neither magic nor poison will hurt him that day.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5769)

The wording is specific: seven dates, in the morning, with protection described for that day. How to understand and practise it is a question for a qualified religious teacher. If you are unwell, see a doctor rather than assuming the cause is magic.

Where to buy Ajwa in Malaysia

Ajwa is sold in Malaysia as Kurma Nabi. For prices, see where to find harga kurma Ajwa in Malaysia, or compare at Kurma Ajwa Jual Malaysia and Kurma Ajwa Jual Malaysia . For how dates fit into everyday eating, read our piece on the nutritional benefits of dates for children and adults.

This article is general information, not medical advice.

References

1. USDA FoodData Central. Dates, medjool (FDC ID 168191). fdc.nal.usda.gov
2. USDA FoodData Central. Dates, deglet noor (FDC ID 171726). fdc.nal.usda.gov
3. Zhang CR, et al. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assays confirm bioactive compounds in Ajwa date fruit. J Agric Food Chem. 2013;61(24):5834-40. PMID 23713661
4. Abdelghffar EA, et al. Ajwa dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) attenuate cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats via augmenting Nrf2, modulating NADPH oxidase-4 and mitigating inflammatory/apoptotic mediators. Biomed Pharmacother. 2022;156:113836. PMID 36242846
5. Rock W, et al. Effects of date (Phoenix dactylifera L., Medjool or Hallawi variety) consumption by healthy subjects on serum glucose and lipid levels and on serum oxidative status: a pilot study. J Agric Food Chem. 2009;57(17):8010-7. PMID 19681613
6. Alkaabi JM, et al. Glycemic indices of five varieties of dates in healthy and diabetic subjects. Nutr J. 2011;10:59. PMID 21619670
7. Al-Kuran O, et al. The effect of late pregnancy consumption of date fruit on labour and delivery. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2011;31(1):29-31. PMID 21280989
8. Salajegheh Z, et al. Is oral consumption of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L. fruit) in the peripartum period effective and safe integrative care to facilitate childbirth and improve perinatal outcomes: a comprehensive revised systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024;24(1):12. PMID 38166785
9. Mirzaei M, et al. Phoenix dactylifera L. pollen versus pentoxifylline on improvement of sperm parameters in idiopathic male infertility: a randomized clinical trial. J Ethnopharmacol. 2024;330:118168. PMID 38604508
10. Tatar T, Akdevelioğlu Y. Effect of pollen, pit powder, and gemmule extract of date palm on male infertility: a systematic review. J Am Coll Nutr. 2018;37(2):154-160. PMID 29087245
11. El Arem A, et al. Dichloroacetic acid-induced testicular toxicity in male rats and the protective effect of date fruit extract. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2017;18(1):17. PMID 28431577
12. Sahih al-Bukhari 5445 (Book 70, Hadith 74). sunnah.com/bukhari:5445
13. Sahih al-Bukhari 5769 (Book 76, Hadith 83). sunnah.com/bukhari:5769