Nutritional and Phytochemical Traits of Apricots (Prunus Armeniaca L.) for Application in Nutraceutical and Health Industry

Abstract

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is a nutritious fruit, rich in bioactive compounds, known for their health benefits. The present study attempts to evaluate nutritional (sugars, organic acids, minerals) and nutraceutical traits (total phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, antioxidant activity) of six commercial apricot genotypes grown in India. Antioxidant activity was determined using three in-vitro assays, namely CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl). Significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed in the genotypes concerning nutritional and nutraceutical traits. Sucrose accounted for more than 60% of total sugars in most genotypes, followed by glucose and fructose. Citric acid accounted for more than 50% of the total organic acids present, followed by malic and succinic acids. Apricot is a good source of potassium (1430.07 to 2202.69 mg/100 g dwb) and iron (2.69 to 6.97 mg/100 g dwb) owing to its mineral composition. Total carotenoids content ranged from 0.44 to 3.55 mg/100 g, with β-carotene accounting for 33–84% of the total content. The results strongly suggest that genotypes ‘CITH-A-1’ and ‘CITH-A-2’, which have high dry matter and carotenoids content, are well suited for drying. ‘Roxana’ and ‘CITH-A-3’ are great for fresh consumption, while ‘Shakarpara’ and ‘Gold Cot’ are excellent for juice processing.

Evaluation of Nutritional Content in Wild Apricot Fruits for Sustainable Apricot Production

“…Wild apricot fruits dominantly included citric acid between 923-1268 mg/100 g, followed by malic acid (380-567 mg/100 g), ascorbic acid (18.4-23.6 mg/100 g), and tartaric acid (3.1-6.8 mg/100 g) (Table 2). Previously, Alajil et al [50] revealed that citric acid was dominant in apricot fruits and comprised 55% of the organic acids in apricot fruits and ranged from 550 to 1170 mg/100 g, followed by malic acid, which comprised approximately 25% of the organic acids and ranged from 400 to 1430 mg/100 g; these results indicate similarities with this study. In another study, Fan et al [49] presented that malic acid was mainly responsible for sourness of apricots, although malic acid was not the prominent organic acid in all apricot cultivars.…”

“…Karatas and Sengul [49] found L*, a*, and b* values of 13 main apricot cultivars grown in Turkey between 48.66-64.70; 8.12-19.41 and 18.06-42.45, respectively. In India L*, a*, and b* values of six international apricot cultivars were between 52.10-71.51; 1.03-39.85; and 40.56-62.94, respectively [50]. These results reveal that growing conditions and genetic background strongly affect peel color coordinates of apricots.…”

“…In another study, Fan et al [49] presented that malic acid was mainly responsible for sourness of apricots, although malic acid was not the prominent organic acid in all apricot cultivars. Previous studies also indicated the cultivar-and genotype-dependent organic acid content of apricot fruits [50,[53][54][55].…”

“…Kargi et al [57] used 21 apricot genotypes grown in Malatya province in Turkey and found that sugar composition of apricot genotypes was different from one genotype to another, and sucrose was the major sugar in apricot fruits, followed by glucose and fructose. In India, Alajil et al [50] used a number of apricot cultivars and reported sucrose as a major sugar, which accounted for more than 63% of total sugars and ranged from 4.15 to 10.13 g/100 g; glucose contributed about 22% of total sugars and ranged from 2.28 to 4.31 g/100 g; and fructose contributed about 15% of total sugars and ranged from 1.22 to 4.19 g/100 g, which is in accordance with our results. Saridas and Agcam [58] reported sucrose, glucose, and fructose content between 5.33 and 8.57; 1.90 and 2.95; and 0.60 and 0.88 g/100 g, respectively, in apricot cultivars in Eastern Turkey.…”

Biochemical Characterization of Traditional Varieties of Apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.) of the Campania Region, Southern Italy

“…Apricot contains several secondary metabolites [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], many of them being active as antioxidants [ 14 ]. Polyphenols and carotenoids (mainly β-carotene) represent the most abundant classes of phytochemicals contained in this fruit [ 15 ]; such molecules are not only crucial for the antioxidant activity but play a primary role also in the color and taste in fruit [ 4 ].…”