6368
J. Agric. Food Chem. 2005, 53, 6368−6374
Carotenoids from New Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Varieties and Their Relationship with Flesh and Skin Color DAVID RUIZ,† JOSEÄ EGEA,† FRANCISCO A. TOMAÄ S-BARBERAÄ N,§ MARIÄA I. GIL*,§
AND
Research Group on Apricot Breeding, Department of Plant Breeding, and Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 164, 30100 Campus Universitario, Espinardo, Murcia, Spain
Thirty-seven apricot varieties, including four new releases (Rojo Pasio´ n, Murciana, Selene, and Dorada) obtained from different crosses between apricot varieties and three traditional Spanish cultivars (Currot, Mauricio, and Bu´ lida), were separated according to flesh color into four groups. The L*, a*, b*, hue angle, and chroma color measurements on the skin and flesh as well as other quality indices including flesh firmness, soluble solids, titratable acidity, and pH were plotted against the total carotenoid content measured by HPLC. Among the 37 apricot varieties, the total carotenoid content ranged from 1512 to 16500 µg 100 g-1 of edible portion, with β-carotene as the main pigment followed by β-cryptoxanthin and γ-carotene. The wide range of variability in the provitamin A content in the apricot varieties encouraged these studies in order to select the breeding types with enhanced carotenoid levels as the varieties with a higher potential health benefit. The carotenoid content was correlated with the color measurements, and the hue angle in both flesh and peel was the parameter with the best correlation (R ) 0.92 and 0.84, respectively). An estimation of the carotenoid content in apricots could be achieved by using a portable colorimeter, as a simple and easy method for field usage applications. KEYWORDS: β-Carotene; color; colorimeter; correlation; HPLC; provitamin A
INTRODUCTION
Scientific interest in the carotenoid content and the distribution patterns in fruits and vegetables has revived since it was discovered that carotenoids are important not only because of the color they impart but also because they show protective activity against a variety of degenerative diseases (1, 2). In 1933, Brockmann (3) conducted one of the first studies on the carotenoid characterization of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), and β-carotene was found to be the principal pigment (4). Numerous other carotenoids are present in apricots but in small amounts (
