Biochemical and Nutraceutical Characterization of Different Accessions of the Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)

Abstract

The name “Vesuvian apricot” refers to numerous varieties originating from the same production area at the foot of Vesuvius and with a long tradition of cultivation. The importance of the apricot fruit and its derivatives on human health is known thanks to the presence of several secondary metabolites, many of them being active as antioxidants. This study aims to analyze 12 vesuvian apricot accessions by means of chemical-physical (fruits weights, firmness, TSS, TA, pH, and color fruits) and nutraceutical analyses (acid organic and sugar content, antioxidant activities, and polyphenol content). All the accessions analyzed can be defined as superior-quality apricots because they had TSS values ≥ 13 and a pulp strength ≤ 1 kg/0.5 cm2. Another parameter used to express the quality of apricot fruits was TSS-F (soluble solids content-pulp hardness) which showed a value ≥ 12. The total sugar content ranged from 260.40 mg/g d.w in ‘VM’ to 744.59 mg/g d.w in ‘SC’. In all accessions analyzed the sugar content was in the following order: sucrose > glucose > fructose. The antioxidant activity showed a high variability between the different accessions. Our results show that the Vesuvian apricot accessions present a large range with different organoleptic characteristics and offer the possibility to choose according to consumer and processing preferences.