Comparative assessment of physicochemical properties of unripe peach (Prunus persica) and Japanese apricot (Prunus mume)

• Main Authors: Hye-Ryun Kim, Il-Doo Kim, Sanjeev Kumar Dhungana, Mi-Ok Kim, Dong-Hyun Shin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2014-02-01
• Series: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Subjects: Amygdalin; Japanese apricot (Backaha); Physicochemical properties; Unripe peach (Mibaekdo, Nagasawa Hakuho)
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115301775

Objective: To investigate the physicochemical properties of unripe peach-Prunus persica cv. Mibaekdo (Mibaekdo) and Prunus persica cv. Nagasawa Hakuho (Nagasawa Hakuho) as an alternative to food supplement while Japanese apricot (Prunus mume cv. Backaha) (Backaha) was used as a control sample. Methods: The unripe fruits were analyzed for soluble solid (°Brix), titratable acidity, pH, total polyphenol content, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, amygdalin content, free amino acid content, organic acid content, free sugar content, and α-amylase activities. Results: Total polyphenol content of unripe peach ranged between 137.27-151.64 μg/g whereas that of apricot was 160.73 μg/g. DPPH radical scavenging activities of Backaha was the highest (89.16%) followed by Mibaekdo (85.05%) and Nagasawa Hakuho (41.50%). The highest amount of oxalic acid (612.8 mg/100 g) was observed in Mibaekdo while that of Nagasawa Hakuho and Backaha were (184.6±18.1) and (334.8±16.1) mg/100 g, respectively. Amygdalin contents of Mibaekdo, Nagasawa Hakuho and Backaha were 486.61, 548.60 and 174.28 μg/g, respectively. Conclusions: The results suggest that the unripe fruit of peach has a significant biochemical potential of using as a food supplement with potential health benefit for human health.