COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOME DRIED APRICOT VARIETIES GROWN IN NORTHERN AREAS OF PAKISTAN

The study was undertaken to evaluate the nutritional significance of edible portion of some dried apricot (Prunus armeniae) varieties such as Charmagazi, Halmas, Margulam, Nari and Travet from different localities of Northern areas. The selected parameters included were moisture content, total ash, total acidity, crude fiber, crude fat, crude protein, reducing sugars, non reducing sugars and total sugars ranged from 11.09±0.80 to 15.10±0.65 g/100g, 2.62±0.11 to 4.86±0.13 g/100g, 1.44±0.11 to 2.83±0.11g/100g, 2.27±0.60 to 3.26±0.65 g/100g, 1.47±0.1 to 1.99±0.20, 0.8±0.12 to 1.2± 0.10 g/100g, 3.24±0.08 to 5.84±0.08 g/100g, 3.32±0.08 to 8.49±0.60 g/100g and 6.74±0.30 to 13.94±0.72 g/100g respectively. The contents of vitamin-C determined ranged from 12.75±0.41 to 17.67±0.55 mg/100g. Among the micro minerals, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe and Zn were determined in the range of 0.05±0.01 to 0.09±0.02 mg/100g, 0.07±0.01 to 0.75±0.02 mg/100g, 0.15±0.02 to 0.38±0.03 mg/100g, 1.4±0.04 to 2.4±0.05 mg/100g and 0.9±0.02 to 2.0±0.05 mg/100g respectively, whereas in the macro minerals, the amount of Na, K, Ca, Mg and P were determined in the range of 14.2±0.20 to 20.8±0.30 mg/100g, 490±5.0 to 520±5.5 mg/100g, 95.5±2.2 to 110±3.0 mg/100g, 24.5±0.50 to 30±0.41 mg/100g and 27±1.0 to 38±2.0 mg/100g, respectively. The overall results showed considerable variation among the dried apricot varieties for different quality parameters. The varieties were characterized on the basis of nutrient contents.