We have investigated the effect of cultivation systems and fruit post-harvest management on the antioxidant properties of apricot fruits. Trees of five cultivars 'Tyrinthos', 'Cafona', 'Bella d'Italia', 'Vitillo' and 'Pellecchiella' were cultivated under integrated and organic systems. Fruits were collected at full maturity stage and analyzed either immediately or after storage at 4+/-0.5 degrees C and 85% of relative humidity for seven and 14 days. The main pomological traits (weight, colour, flesh firmness, total soluble sugars, titratable acidity) and antioxidant properties were analyzed. The total antioxidant capacity (TAC by TEAC method), total phenols content (TP by Folin-Ciocalteu method) and carotenoid content by HPLC-DAD were monitored. Cultivar characterization by principal component analysis (PCA) indicated a large variability on pomological and antioxidant properties of apricot fruits. 'Bella d'Italia' showed better TAC and TP values compared to the other cultivars. ANOVA interactions between cultivar and cultivation system (organic/integrated) were found for the antioxidant properties. These interactions may help to select a set of genotypes with better performances under organic system, which in our study might be indicated in 'Cafona' and 'Bella d'Italia'.

Food quality analysis addressed to the nutraceutical profile is becoming consistent highlighting the\ud possibility to use the antioxidant capacity as further quality index of many fruit and vegetables species.\ud In this study, the total antioxidant status of several apricot cultivars differing in ripening calendar,\ud pomological traits and geographical origin have been determined by Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant\ud Capacity (TEAC) assay and total phenol content by Folin-Ciocalteu (F-C) method. Among the cultivars\ud analysed, the variability on the antioxidant capacity and total phenol content have been consistent,\ud showing an increasing amount of antioxidants in the late ripening genotypes. These genotypes exhibited\ud the best combination of pomological and nutraceutical traits with an excellent fruit qualitative profile

Apricot fruit (Prunus armeniaca L.) quality strictly relates to the eating quality of fresh produce. Since consumers are more and more interested in healthy food, and apricot germplasm shows a wide choice of new selections and cultivars, apricot nutraceutical properties are under evaluation in order to select outstanding genotypes, which may link breeding and marketing. In the present study, 18 apricot genotypes of the Italian and international germplasm were evaluated over three years according to pomological, total antioxidant and total phenols attributes using principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses. The antioxidant capacity ranged from 1.24 to 11.47 μmolTE gFW⁻¹ and total phenols from 0.22 to 1.58 mgGAE gFW⁻¹. Four outstanding genotypes stood out as healthy food for fresh consumption which may also be introduced in breeding programs to produce new cultivars with improved nutraceutical values in addition to fruit qualitative attributes.

Two solvent extraction procedures were used to investigate the extraction efficiency in terms of total antioxidant capacity and\ud total phenols in apricot fruit. Samples were either sequentially extracted with aqueous ethanol (ethanol/water 80% v/v) and\ud tetrahydrofuran or directly extracted with tetrahydrofuran. Each extract was analyzed for total antioxidant capacity by the\ud Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) assay and total phenols by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. The results showed\ud that using sequential solvent extraction, the majority (85%) of the total antioxidant capacity and total phenols was due to\ud hydrophilic compounds. In tetrahydrofuran direct extractions, the total antioxidant capacity and total phenols were higher than\ud values obtained with aqueous ethanol and the sum of results obtained from sequential extracts for either total antioxidant\ud capacity or total phenols was similar to the tetrahydrofuran-extract antioxidant values. A linear correlation between total\ud antioxidant capacity and total phenols was found and was independent of the solvent extraction method. In conclusion, the\ud choice of solvent is related to the antioxidant potential of fruit and depends on the food hydrophilic/lipophilic composition

In the human diet, apples (Malus domestica) are the most consumed fruit worldwide throughout the whole year and are valued for their organoleptic characteristics (aroma, taste, and flavour). Apples are also an important source of phytochemicals, represented by flavonols, flavanols, cinnamic acid, dihydrochalcones, and anthocyanins, which have a known antioxidant activity that can prevent or reduce the insurgence of several chronic and degenerative diseases. These compounds have been found especially in the peel tissue. Apple orchards are often treated chemically against several diseases and particularly against the fungal pathogen Venturia inaequalis. This pathogen causes the growth of small and rough fruits (scab-apples) with black circular lesions on the peel. New resistant genotypes to V. inaequalis have been obtained but until now they have covered restricted markets aimed at organic production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality characteristics of two scab-resistant cultivars 'GoldRush' and 'Fiorina', focusing on pomological traits, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and total phenol (TP) content in the peel and flesh tissues of the fruit. These genotypes were compared with the well-known cultivar 'Golden Delicious' clone B (scab-susceptible). In all the tested cultivars, TAC and TP content were higher in the peel than the flesh. In particular, the highest TAC and TP values were found in the peel of the two scab-resistant cultivars, 'GoldRush' and 'Fiorina', which showed interesting and valuable attributes.