EFFECT OF SULFURIZATION AND PROCESS CONDITIONS ON POLYPHENOL CONTENT OF ANATOLIAN APRICOTS (PRUNUS ARMENIACA)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the content of phenolics such as quercetin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferrulic acid, as well as other catechin, epicatechin and quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin). Phenolic compounds were measured by spectrophotometric methods. Among the researched apricots, Organically grown cultivar contained the highest amounts of all groups of phenolics, followed by conventional apricots. The quantity of polyphenols depended on sulfurization was investigated. It is found that the region of cultivation did not have remarkable influence on polyphenol, whereas the cultivation type has the main effect. Significant differences were observed in phenolic mass fraction among different cultivars and growing seasons (P<0.05), and phenolic compounds were significantly higher in all organics. Examined cultivars possess high antioxidant capacity and reducing power, and all phenolics were highly correlated with RP (R=0.46 to 0.99). Generally, organically grown fruits are rich sources of phenolics, which show evident antioxidant capacity. The high-pressure liquid chromatography, equipped with diode array detector, was used to investigate the polyphenols. We state that the level of all determined phenolics decreased after sulfurization. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Consumption of apricots have been applied to be a practical approach toward the prevention of several degenerative diseases. It is well reported that apricots with different cultivars contain phenolics that have been shown to be the main phytochemicals present in fruit and that they play important roles in the preservation of several degenerative diseases. Sulfurized apricots have much better hygienic quality, and due to chemical reactions during processing, they become more digestible and have a decreased nutritional value. However, sulfurization may affect the antioxidant status of apricots due to the release of more phenolic compounds and destruction or creation of redox-active metabolites.