Evaluation of polyphenol contents in differently processed apricots using accelerated solvent extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector

Concentrations of 17 polyphenols in ripe-fresh, sun-dried and sulfited-dried apricots either harvested from organic or pesticide-treated trees before harvest were determined using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-Vis diode array detector, and the change of polyphenol profile with origin of the apricot product was established. Extraction of polyphenols was achieved using the accelerated solvent extraction technique (ASE). A mixture of methanol, water (70:30 v/v) including 0.1 g of tert-butylhydroquinone as solvent, 60 min extraction time, 60 degrees C temperature and 1,500 psi pressure were found the most productive operating conditions for ASE. Concentrations of polyphenols in organic apricots were higher than pesticide-treated samples, and roughly the same in ripe-fresh and sun-dried apricots. Polyphenol concentrations of either organic or pesticide-treated sulfited-dried apricots were lower than the ripe-fresh apricots. Considering the organic ripe-fresh apricots, there was a decrease in some polyphenol concentration in the sulfited-dried apricots compared with the ripe-fresh apricot, and the range of decrease is between 1.4 and 53%.