Nutritional and health benefits of apricots
Journal Title: International Journal of Unani and Integrative Medicine - Year 2018, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
Advances in food and nutrition have shifted the consumer preferences towards functional and nutraceutical rich foods. In addition to natural antioxidant defence system, there are external sources furnished via diet to quench free radicals and reactive oxygen species produced in the biological systems. Apricot occupies a distinct position among stone fruits due to its multifaceted compositional contour and significant functional potentials. It has a rich nutritional content in terms of sugars (more than 60%) proteins (8%), crude fiber (11.50%), crude fat (2%), total minerals (4%), vitamins (vitamin A, C, K and B complex) and reasonable quantities of organic acids (citric acid and malic acid) on dry weight basis. Literature reports that there are appreciable amounts of total phenolic compounds and flavonoids in the fruit which make them more valuable as functional food. The fruit has a great market value as fresh and dried food commodity and has the highest market share of agricultural income. The plant is reported to contain polysaccharides, polyphenol, fatty acid, sterol derivatives, carotenoids, cynogenic glycosides and volatile component. In very small amounts, the hydrogen cyanide present in apricot kernels has been traditionally prescribed in Chinese medicine for treating asthma, cough, and constipation. Owing to its bioactive components of pharmacological importance, it has been found effective against chronic gastritis, oxidative intestinal damage, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and tumor formation. The present review is an attempt to collect and disseminate available information regarding nutritional and health potentials in apricot for the benefit of researchers, consumers and other stakeholders.
Authors and Affiliations
Tabasum Fatima, Omar Bashir, Gousia Gani, Tashooq A Bhat, Nusrat Jan
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP545384
- DOI -
- Views 73
- Downloads 0
Evolution of water purification methods
Introduction and Background: Early humans believed that the purity of water was determined by taste and odour, if the water had a sweet and pleasant taste and good odour then it was considered as pure. As a result, the m...
Effect of Unani treatment in Sala’ al-Rahim (Leiomyomata): A case report
Sala’ al-Rahim (leiomyomata) is commonest benign gynecologic tumour affecting nearly 20-30% reproductive age women. Treatment of leiomyomata should be individualized, and symptomatology may be a decisive factor in decidi...
Antidiabetic efficacy of Habbul aas (Myrtus communis): Case report
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder in which prevalence has been increasing steadily all over the world. As a result of this trend, it is fast becoming an epidemic in some countries of the world...
Nutritional disorders: An overview
Nutrition has been identified as a primary factor in human development, not only as a conditioning factor for health but also as a determinant of quality of life and overall development. Access to adequate quantity of qu...
Efficacy of Kanduri (Coccinia indica) in diabetes associated dyslipidemia - A randomized single blind standard controlled study
Background and objectives: Diabetes mellitus is characterized by elevated blood glucose, it can leads to serious vascular complications with poor prognosis. Dyslipidemia secondary to DM is one of the aggravating risk fac...