Bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of dried apricot

Dried apricot was extracted using two different solvents: 80% ethanol and hexane. The contents of total phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins were determined in ethanol apricot extract (EAE), while the carotenoid content was determined in hexane apricot extracts (HAE) by spectrophotometric method. The detected amounts of bioactive compounds in dried apricot were: phenolics 498.13 ± 12.04 mg GAE/100g DA, flavonoids 218.45 ± 14.14 mg R/100g DA and anthocyanins 3.08 ± 0.40 mg CGE/100g DA. In dried apricot the β-carotene was present in the amount of 0.56 ± 0.03 mg/100g DA. Some individual phenolic compounds in EAE were determined by HPLC analysis and the most dominant compound was gallic acid (35.02 ± 1.65 mg/100g DA). Free radical scavenging activities of EAE and HAE were tested spectrophotometrically using stable DPPH radicals and reducing power method. The EC50 value for EAE was 2.05 ± 0.06 mg/ml and for HAE was 6.28 ± 0.01 mg/ml. The RP0.5 values determined by reducing power method were 6.11 ± 0.01 mg/ml for EAE and 62.04 ± 0.03 mg/ml for HAE. The results indicate that dried apricot can be a valuable source of natural antioxidants and can be used as a functional food ingredient in the food industry