ANTIOXIDANT CHARACTERIZATION OF APRICOT FRUITS: GENOTYPE AFFECTED VARIABILITY AND CORRELATIONS AMONG DIFFERENT ANTIOXIDANT ASSAYS

The following parameters were studied in apricot fresh fruits: colour (lightness, hue angle and chroma); ferric reducing ability (FRAP); DPPH-radical scavenging activity; total radical scavenging capacity measured with chemiluminescence methods; as well as total phenol (TPC) and vitamin C contents measured with spectrophotometer and HPLC-DAD, respectively. Altogether, 29 apricot cultivars and 18 hybrids obtained from the apricot breeding programme of Corvinus University of Budapest were evaluated. High levels of variation could be detected among genotypes in all tested redox parameters, while colour indices suggested lower levels of variation in fruits' carotenoid content. The variations in antioxidant capacity of different genotypes could be attributed mainly to the phenolics, but vitamin C also had a considerable contribution. A perspective hybrid with an outstanding antioxidant capacity and content could be identified, which might be used as a donor genotype in future functional breeding programmes.