Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried Fruits

A growing demand for organic foods is driven by consumers′ perception that they are more nutritious. However, while there is a number of scientific studies showing some superior qualities of organically grown fruit and vegetables, including, i.e., higher content of phenolics, some vitamins and antio...

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Main Authors: Dominika Średnicka-Tober, Renata Kazimierczak, Alicja Ponder, Ewelina Hallmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/8/1005
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author Dominika Średnicka-Tober
Renata Kazimierczak
Alicja Ponder
Ewelina Hallmann
author_facet Dominika Średnicka-Tober
Renata Kazimierczak
Alicja Ponder
Ewelina Hallmann
author_sort Dominika Średnicka-Tober
collection DOAJ
description A growing demand for organic foods is driven by consumers′ perception that they are more nutritious. However, while there is a number of scientific studies showing some superior qualities of organically grown fruit and vegetables, including, i.e., higher content of phenolics, some vitamins and antioxidant activity, scientific research looking into the quality of processed organic products is very limited. At the same time the consumption of processed, convenient foods, with a long shelf-life, is rapidly increasing all over the world. Among the processed fruit-based products, dried fruits are recognized by consumers as one of the best snacks, highly nutritious and containing a large amount of fibre. In the presented experiment, four types of organic and conventionally produced dried fruits were examined: Apricots, apple rings, cranberries, and prunes. The concentrations of polyphenols (in all products) and carotenoids (in apricots) were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The study confirms that dry fruits can be undoubtedly considered as a rich source of polyphenols, however, a large variation in the concentrations of these compounds among different brands of products was also pointed: 219.03 ± 3.90–296.96 ± 2.86 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in dried apricots, 95.24 ± 15.12–627.71 ± 48.64 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in dried apple rings, 14.64 ± 0.43–203.09 ± 7.96 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in dried cranberries, and 134.65 ± 12.27–422.44 ± 9.00 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in prunes. Carotenoids concentrations in dried apricots ranged from 2.72 ± 0.31 to 17.49 ± 0.17 µg g<sup>−1</sup>. Among the tested dried fruits, only in the case of apricots organic products were characterized by the higher contents of phenolics and carotenoids compared to the conventional brands. In the case of other products there was either no consistent significant production system effect, or the concentrations of the analyzed phenolic compounds were higher in conventional products.
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spelling doaj.art-f99aa6d326dc47278d6594505b2e197c2023-11-20T08:03:24ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582020-07-0198100510.3390/foods9081005Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried FruitsDominika Średnicka-Tober0Renata Kazimierczak1Alicja Ponder2Ewelina Hallmann3Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, PolandA growing demand for organic foods is driven by consumers′ perception that they are more nutritious. However, while there is a number of scientific studies showing some superior qualities of organically grown fruit and vegetables, including, i.e., higher content of phenolics, some vitamins and antioxidant activity, scientific research looking into the quality of processed organic products is very limited. At the same time the consumption of processed, convenient foods, with a long shelf-life, is rapidly increasing all over the world. Among the processed fruit-based products, dried fruits are recognized by consumers as one of the best snacks, highly nutritious and containing a large amount of fibre. In the presented experiment, four types of organic and conventionally produced dried fruits were examined: Apricots, apple rings, cranberries, and prunes. The concentrations of polyphenols (in all products) and carotenoids (in apricots) were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The study confirms that dry fruits can be undoubtedly considered as a rich source of polyphenols, however, a large variation in the concentrations of these compounds among different brands of products was also pointed: 219.03 ± 3.90–296.96 ± 2.86 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in dried apricots, 95.24 ± 15.12–627.71 ± 48.64 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in dried apple rings, 14.64 ± 0.43–203.09 ± 7.96 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in dried cranberries, and 134.65 ± 12.27–422.44 ± 9.00 mg 100 g<sup>−1</sup> in prunes. Carotenoids concentrations in dried apricots ranged from 2.72 ± 0.31 to 17.49 ± 0.17 µg g<sup>−1</sup>. Among the tested dried fruits, only in the case of apricots organic products were characterized by the higher contents of phenolics and carotenoids compared to the conventional brands. In the case of other products there was either no consistent significant production system effect, or the concentrations of the analyzed phenolic compounds were higher in conventional products.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/8/1005dry fruitsorganicconventionalpolyphenolscarotenoidsbasket study
spellingShingle Dominika Średnicka-Tober
Renata Kazimierczak
Alicja Ponder
Ewelina Hallmann
Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried Fruits
Foods
dry fruits
organic
conventional
polyphenols
carotenoids
basket study
title Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried Fruits
title_full Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried Fruits
title_fullStr Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried Fruits
title_full_unstemmed Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried Fruits
title_short Biologically Active Compounds in Selected Organic and Conventionally Produced Dried Fruits
title_sort biologically active compounds in selected organic and conventionally produced dried fruits
topic dry fruits
organic
conventional
polyphenols
carotenoids
basket study
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/8/1005
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AT renatakazimierczak biologicallyactivecompoundsinselectedorganicandconventionallyproduceddriedfruits
AT alicjaponder biologicallyactivecompoundsinselectedorganicandconventionallyproduceddriedfruits
AT ewelinahallmann biologicallyactivecompoundsinselectedorganicandconventionallyproduceddriedfruits