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Tocopherols, Tocotrienols and Carotenoids in Kernel Oils Recovered from 15 Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Genotypes

Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society volume 94, pages 693–699 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

We studied the content of tocopherols, tocotrienols and carotenoids in oil extracted from the kernels of 15 apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) genotypes and the associated oil yield of the studied samples. The oil yield in apricot kernels was in a wide range of 27.2–61.4% (w/w) dry weight basis. For each class of studied compounds (tocochromanols and carotenoids), a three-fold difference was found between the lowest and the highest content (78.8–258.5 and 0.15–0.53 mg/100 g of oil, respectively). γ-Tocopherol accounted for 91–94% of total tocochromanols detected in all tested samples. Lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene were the main compounds among the eight different carotenoids detected in apricot kernel oils; they comprised 76–94% of the total carotenoids content, and compositions were characteristic for specific genotypes. The oil yield and content of lipophilic antioxidants in apricot kernel oils were significantly affected by the genotype. The oil yield was negatively correlated with the total amount of tocochromanols (r = −0.910) and carotenoids (r = −0.704) in apricot kernel oils.

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Acknowledgements

This article is based upon work from COST Action (OC-2015-1-19780 “European network to advance carotenoid research and applications in agro-food and health” 2016–2020), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). I would like to kindly acknowledge Dr. Arianne Soliven and Dr. Gunārs Lācis for their assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Horticulture, Latvia University of Agriculture, Graudu 1, Dobele, 3701, Latvia

    Paweł Górnaś & Inga Mišina

  2. Institute of Food Technology of Plant Origin, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-624, Poznan, Poland

    Elżbieta Radziejewska-Kubzdela, Róża Biegańska-Marecik, Anna Grygier & Magdalena Rudzińska

Authors
  1. Paweł Górnaś
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  2. Elżbieta Radziejewska-Kubzdela
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  3. Inga Mišina
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Correspondence to Paweł Górnaś.

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Górnaś, P., Radziejewska-Kubzdela, E., Mišina, I. et al. Tocopherols, Tocotrienols and Carotenoids in Kernel Oils Recovered from 15 Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Genotypes. J Am Oil Chem Soc 94, 693–699 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-017-2978-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-017-2978-y

Keywords

  • Tocopherols
  • Tocotrienols
  • Carotenoids
  • Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) kernel oil
  • Genotype
  • Lipophilic antioxidants