The carotenoids in the peel and flesh of 41 apricot cultivars were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed by UHPLC-APCI-MS/MS, and the L*, a*, b* and quality indexes of the fruits were determined. The results showed that the L*, a*, b* and quality indexes of the fruits were quite different, and 13 carotenoids were detected in the peel and flesh of apricots, among which ε-carotene, α-cryptoxanthin and apocarotenal were newly detected carotenoids in apricots. The total carotenoid content of the 41 apricot cultivars varied from 20.983 to 320.278 μg/g FW, and the total carotenoid content varied from 17.353 to 222.098 μg/g FW in the peel and from 2.536 to 98.179 μg/g FW in the flesh. The main components of apricot fruits were β-carotene and (E/Z)-phytoene, followed by β-cryptoxanthin and lutein. This study shows that carotenoids in apricot fruits have rich metabolic diversity.
Keywords: Acetone (PubChem CID180); Acetonitrile (PubChem CID6342); Apricot; Carotenoid; Dimethyl sulfoxide (PubChem CID679); Diversity; Ethanol (PubChem CID702); Formic acid (PubChem CID284); Fruit; Methanol (PubChem CID887); Methyl tert butyl ether (PubChem CID15413); N-hexane (PubChem CID8058); UHPLC-APCI-MS/MS.
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