10.1007_s13596-015-0215-5

1 23
Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental
Medicine
ISSN 1598-2386
Orient Pharm Exp Med
DOI 10.1007/s13596-015-0215-5
A review on phytochemical, biological
screening and importance of Wild Apricot
(Prunus armeniaca L.)
Indra Rai, R. K. Bachheti, C. K. Saini,
Archana Joshi & R. S. Satyan

1 23
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REVIEW
A review on phytochemical, biological screening and importance
of Wild Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)
Indra Rai1
& R. K. Bachheti1,2
& C. K. Saini1
& Archana Joshi1
& R. S. Satyan3
Received: 11 May 2015 /Accepted: 1 November 2015
# Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University and Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Abstract Wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an important
fruit tree species found in temperate regions of Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand states of India at an altitude up to
2500–3000 msl. From time immemorial P. armeniaca L. has
been used in folk medicine as a remedy for various diseases.
Apricot seed oil has been used as biodiesel and oil cake as
organic manure. The plant is rich in sugars, mono and poly-
saccharides, polyphenols, fatty acids, sterol derivatives, carot-
enoids, cynogenic glucosides and volatile compounds.
Polyphenols are abundant micronutrients in the human diet,
and evidence for their role in the prevention of degenerative
diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases is emerg-
ing. Cyanogenic glycosides responsible for a bitter taste of
apricot seeds and these seeds cause some degree of intoxica-
tion primarily on nervous system and thyroid. P. armeniaca L.
has also been investigated for various biological activities
such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective,
antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, antimutagenic, inhibitory
activity against several enzymes. Among them the antimicro-
bial and antioxidant potential has been of much exploration
and were proved to be highly efficacious under in vitro con-
ditions. In the present review, the antioxidant properties of
P. armeniaca L. and its potential use as natural dietary
supplement has been discussed. We have also thrown light
on the phytochemistry and biological activity reports pub-
lished on the species worldwide.
Keywords Prunus armeniaca L. . Chemical screening .
Antioxidant activity . Antimicrobial activity . Biological
properties and seed oil
Introduction
Prunus armeniaca L. (wild apricot) is an important hardy tree
borne in the dry temperate regions of North-western
Himalayas, particularly in the valleys of Kashmir, Chenab,
Kulu, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) and Uttarakhand in India
at altitudes up to nearly 3000 mts. P. armeniaca L. is a good
source of nutrients and one of the most familiar crops world-
wide (Baytop 1999). Wild apricot belongs to the family
Rosaceae and sub- family Prunoidea (Chopra et al. 1956).
Some common species are Prunus dulcis (Almond), Prunus
domestica (plum), Prunus cerasus (sour cherry), Prunus
pumila (Sand cherry), Prunus padus (European bird cherry),
Prunus laurocerasus (European cherry-laurel) and Prunus
armeniaca (Apricot). It is a moderate - sized tree, about 10
m tall with a reddish bark (Krishnamurty 1969). The leaves
are broad and roundish, with pointed apex, smooth, margin
and finely serrated, petiole ½ inch to an inch long, generally
tinged with red. The flowers are sessile, pinkish white, borne
singly and appearing much in advance of the foliage. Fruits
are round about 5-9cms, across, hairy when young, but nearly
smooth skinned at maturity with a yellow skin overlaid with
red, the flesh is yellow or yellowish orange, firm and sweet.
The fruit ripens end of July to mid-August and is perishable.
The percentage of the kernel in the pit of apricot varies
from 18.8 to 38.0 %. The average dimensions of apricot
* R. K. Bachheti
rkbachheti@gmail.com
1
Department of Chemistry, Graphic Era University,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
2
Department of Chemistry, College of Natural & Computational
Sciences (CNCS), Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia East
Africa
3
College of Natural and Computational Sciences (CNCS), Haramaya
University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia N.E. Africa
Orient Pharm Exp Med
DOI 10.1007/s13596-015-0215-5
Online ISSN 2211-1069
Print ISSN 1598-2386
Author's personal copy

kernels are as follows length 14.0–19.17 mm, width 9.99–
10.20 mm, thickness 3.3–6.27 mm, and mass, 0.47–0.48 g.
The 100-kernel weight range is 28.7–65.1gm (Alpaslan and
Hayta 2006). In Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh) a recent census
has shown that there are 72,000 wild trees, producing about
2550 tonnes of fruit. The areas devoted to cultivation of apri-
cots are about 600 hectares in Kashmir, 375 hectares in
Himachal Pradesh and 1600 hectares in Kumaun region
(Uttarakhand). Varieties of Apricot locally found in India are
‘Halman and Rakchaikarpo’ which are reported in Leh -
Ladakh area of Jammu & Kashmir state (papademetrious).
Apricot cultivation has not succeeded in South India (Dang
et al. 1964; Kumar and Bhan 2010). The fruits should be
harvested in morning hours and direct exposure of fruits to
sun should be avoided during grading and packaging (Kureel
et al. 2007). Turkey is one of the major apricot producers in
the world with the approximate annual yield of 538,000, 35,
000 and 7000 tonnes/year fresh fruit, seed and kernel, respec-
tively, half of this amount comes from Malatya region located
in Eastern part of the country (Gezer and Dikilitas 2002) The
plant is rich in mono and polysaccharides, polyphenols, fatty
acids, sterol derivatives, carotenoids, cynogenic glucosides,
metals /minerals and volatile components, and has been also
investigated for various biological activites such as antimicro-
bial, antimutagenic, inhibitory activites against several en-
zymes, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive
and antioxidant activity (Erdogan and Kartal 2011; NPARR
2011; Varsha et al. 2012).
The different parts of the plant are used in traditional med-
icine for the treatment of a variety of common diseases such as
cough, asthma, bronchitis, anemia, fever (Erdogan and Kartal
2011), used as food additives (Asma et al. 2007), also possess
antioxidant, anti-asthamic, antitussive and anti-pasmodic ac-
tivity (Erdogan and Kartal 2011).
Chemical Constituents
Sugar, Organic acid, vitamins, phenolic compounds, and ca-
rotenoids are being natural components of fruits and play im-
portant roles in maintaining fruit quality and nutritive value.
The flavonoids constitute one of the most numerous and wide-
spread groups of natural products and are important to human
because they contribute colour to plants and many of them are
physiologically active compound and are known for their an-
tioxidant activities. All flavonoid compounds are derived from
either 2-phenylbenzopyrone or 3-phenylbenzopyrone moiety.
Flavonoids are subdivided into 8 subgroups: chalcone, fla-
vone, flavonol, flavanone, flavanolol, anthocyanins,
proanthocyanidins and isoflavonoids.
Terpenoids comprise the largest and most widespread
group of natural plant products and over 20,000 such struc-
tures have been described from plant sources. They are all
derived biogenetically from the five-carbon precursor unit i.e.,
isoprene hence, are also known as isoprenoids. Terpenoids have
been classified into different classes such as monoterpenoids,
sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, seterterpene and teriterpenoids.
Terpenoids shows a wide range of biological activities against
cancer, malaria, inflammation, and a variety of infectious dis-
eases (viral and bacterial). Natural-product bioprospecting from
the marine environment has resulted in hundreds of terpenoids
with novel structures and interesting bioactivities, with more to
be explored in the future.
The apricot fruit degrade very fast, both sensorial and nu-
tritional, the time period from commercial ripening to the deg-
radation process ranges from 3 to 5 days depending on the
variety (Amoros et al. 1989) this aspect create great limitations
for its marketing, transportation and distribution, the possibil-
ity of extending post-harvest shelf life of apricots by applying
electron beam ionization at doses of 0.5 and 1.0 kGy has been
studied, which is not effective (Egea et al. 2007) Previous
research also gives contradictory results that ionization accel-
erates ripening (Guelfat-Rich et al. 1969). These techniques
not reflect physiochemical properties like soluble solid con-
tent and total acidity (Chaine et al. 1999; Cardarelli et al.
2002). During apricot ripening as in most climacteric fruits a
constant decrease of the pulp acidity and an increase of fruit
Brix, both processes being responsible for the characteristic
flavor of the ripe fruit (Ledbetter et al. 2002).
Total soluble solid content and acidity ratio (TSS/Acidity)
known as indicator of taste quality attributes influencing nota-
bly the sweetness and taste of fruits (Ruiz et al. 2008; Ledbetter
et al. 2006), soluble solid content of the fresh apricot cultivars
was 11.8 % (Ishag et al. 2009). The levels of fruit peel color in
apricot cultivars were significantly different depended on culti-
vars, growing season, is an important indicator for fruit ripe-
ness, harvest date and physico-chemical composition of fruit
(Çalişkan and Polat 2011; Lo Bianco et al. 2010; Durmaz et al.
2010; Hegedũs et al. 2010; Asma and Ozturk 2005; Mori et al.
2007; Munzuroglu et al. 2003). Sensorial properties for apricot
fruits are influenced principally by the sugars, organic acids,
and volatile compound contents, color, size, texture (Ruiz and
Egea 2008) firmness, attractiveness, and taste (Bassi et al. 1996;
Gurrieri et al. 2001). Several reports on apricot showed an
effect of the genetic origin (genotype effect) and year on some
pomological characteristics except for pH, acidity and total sol-
uble solids (Asma and Ozturk 2005; Polat and Caliskan 2010;
Oguzhan et al. 2012). Many constituents were identified in
apricot by various chemical and spectroscopic method summa-
rized in Table 1.
Apricot Kernels and Oils
The seed yields 27 % of kernels and the kernels yields
approximately 47 % of oil. The color of oil was pale
I. Rai et al.

Table 1 Chemical constituents reported in P. armeniaca L
S. No. Parts Category Chemical constituents References
1. Leaves and
fruit
Glycosides kaempferol and quercetin, Rutin Henning and Herrmann 1980
2. Leaves Glycosides Rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside) and astragalin (kaempferol-3-
O-glucoside)
Ledbetter et al. 2000
3. Root proanthocyanidin epiafzelechin-3-O-phydroxybenzoate-(4α→8, 2α→O→7)-
epiafzelechin
Prasad et al. 1998
4. Root proanthocyanidin Entepiafzelechin-(4α→8,2α→O→7)-epiafzelechin (mahuannin
A), ent-epiafzelechin-(4α→8, 2α→O→7)-(+)-afzelechin,
and entepiafzelechin-(4α→8, 2α→O→)-(−)-afzelechin
Rawat et al. 1999
5. Root Glycosides 4-O-glycosyloxy-2-hydroxy-6-methoxyacetophenone Prasad 1999
6. Leaves and
Branches
Fatty acids palmitic acid came out to be the chief fatty acid (46.65 %),
followed by linolenic (17.06 %), stearic (7.12 %), and linoleic
(6.52 %) acids
Kislichenko et al. 2007
7. Fruit Sugars/ Vitamins/
Amino acids
Total sugars 5.3–8.6 %, glucose 3.2–4.8 %, fructose 1.4–4.2 %,
sucrose1.4–5.4 % and tannin 0.06–1.10 %, major maleic acid
& citric acid, minor tartaric, quinic, succinic acid calcium
pectate, Amino acids; aspartic, glutamic, threonine, serine,
proline, alanine, glycine, valine, leucine, cystine, phenyl-
alanine, tyrosine, γ- amino butyric acid, histidine, arginine,
glutamine, and β-alanine)
Dolenc-sturm et al. 1999;
Katona et al. 1999; Radi
et al. 2004; wealth of India
1969; Bassi et al. 1996
8. Seeds Acidic polysaccharides Mannose (50 %), glucose (37.5 %), and glucuronic acid
(12.5 %).
Banerjee and Bhatt 2007
9. Fruit Polysaccharides total solids (12.4–16.7 %), insoluble solids (2.1–3.1 %), acids as
malic acid (0.7–2.2 %), total sugar as invert sugar (5.3–8.6 %),
glucose (3.2–4.8 %), fructose (1.4–4.25 %), sucrose
(1.4–5.4 %) and tannins (0.06–0.10 %).
Varsha et al. 2012
10. Fruit Sugars Saccharose (6.36–6.90 %), glucose (1.64–1.81 %), and fructose
(0.53–0.56 %)
Aubert and Chanforan 2007
11. Fruit Sugars Sucrose, followed by glucose, sorbitol, and fructose-inositol Drogoudi et al. 2008; Akin
et al. 2008; Yarilgac et al.
2008
12. Cell wall Sugars Pectin and the major sugars were elucidated to be arabinose
(36.7–47.3 %), galactose (8.7–13.3 %).()
Femenia et al. 1998a, b;
Souty et al. 1981
13. Fruit Sugars Rhamnose (4.2–6.6 %), fructose (2.0–2.4 %), xylose (12.0–
16.0 %), mannose (4.7–6.0 %), and glucose (8.7–13.3 %).
Kurz et al. 2008a
14. Fruit Sugars Glucose (0.7–4.9 %), fructose (0.3–1.9 %), sucrose (0.5–10.7 %) Bureau et al. 2009.
15. Fruit Volatile contents Myrcene, limonene, p-cymene, terpinolene, trans-2-heenol,
α-terpineol, geranial, 2-methylbutyric, linalool,
epoxydihyrolinalool, γ-octalactone, γ-decalactone, linalool,
lactones, and C6 lipid peroxidation products, β-ionone, γ-
decalactone, hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal,
(E)-2-nonenal, and γ-dodecalactone
Guillot et al. 2006;
Takeoka et al. 1990; Guichard
et al. 2006; Greger and
Schieberle 2007
16. Fruit Nutrients Carbohydrates, vitamin C and K, oil, protein, soluble sugars,
fiber, provitamin A
Ruiz et al. 2006; Dwivedi &
Ram 2008; Femenia et al.
1995; Mandal et al. 2007;
Bureau and Bushway 1986;
Ozturk et al. 2009
17. Fruit Carotenoids/ Phenolics β-carotene,β-cryptoxanthin, γ-carotene, and lycopene, β-
cryptoxanthin and γ-carotene, zeaxanthin, phenolics such as
chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids, 73.4 % of (+)-catechin
and 82.6 % of (−)-epicatechin
De Rigal et al. 2000; Rafi et al.
2007; Ruiz et al. 2005a;
Kurz et al. 2008b; Tsanova-
Savova et al. 2005
18. Fruit Carotenoids Numerous other carotenoids are present in apricots but in small
amounts (<2 %) such as phytoene, phytofluene, β-carotene,
lycopene, α-cryptoxanthin, and lutein
Ruiz et al. 2008; Marty et al.
2005; Dragovic-Uzelac
et al. 2007;
19. Fruit Carotenoids β-carotene, quercetin and its 3-glucoside, isoquercitin Sass-Kiss et al. 2005;
Williams and Wender 1953.
20. Fruit Phenols/ procyanidins,
hydroxycinnamic acid
Chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, protocatechuic acid,
(+)-catechin, 3′-caffeoylquinic (orchlorogenic) acid,
(−)-epicatechin, naringenin-7-glucoside (or prunin), quercetin-
Radi et al. 1997; Veberic and
Stampar 2005; Ruiz et al.
2005b; Jiménez et al. 2008;
A Review on Phytochemical, Biological Screening and Importance

yellow, Acid value of oil 4.05, Unsaponifiable matter
ranges from 0.1 to 1.6, saponification number ranges from
187.3 to 199.0, iodine value is 90.0–104.8, specific grav-
ity is 0.876–0.932, and the refractive index is 1.464–
1.480 (Alpaslan and Hayta 2006; Gandhi et al. 1997;
Bachheti et al. 2012). The fatty acid composition of wild
apricot variant is almost comparable to that of the report-
ed values for oil from the edible variant of apricot, there
are no unidentified components in the edible variant
whereas in the wild variant about 1.6 % unidentified mat-
ter was observed, oil having rich amount of unsaturated
fatty acid (94.4 %) . Sweet apricot kernels have been
reported to contain more oil than that contained in bitter
kernels. Oil has 93.13 % unsaturated fatty acid, 7.17 %
saturated fatty acid and is free from cyanogenic glyco-
sides as revealed by the qualitative color test (Gandhi
et al. 1997; Bachheti et al. 2012; Gupta et al. 2012) have
been reported (Tables 2, 3, and 4).
The cyanogenic glucosides are known to be found in many
food plants including apricot and release hydrocyanic acid on
hydrolysis (Zöllner and Giebelmann 2007; Cho et al.
2006)),,
give a bitter taste to apricot seeds of bitter phenotype
(P. armeniaca var. amara) and produce harmful effects
(Negri et al. 2008). However, consumption of the seeds con-
taining cyanogenic glucosides may cause some degree of in-
toxication primarily on nervous system and thyroid. In one
study, it was also found that bitter kernelled apricots contained
higher levels of cyanogenic compounds in the leaves, roots
and seeds than sweet kernelled ones (Sefer et al. 2006).
Overconsumption of the seeds containing high amount of
amygdalin might cause acute or chronic toxicity in human
beings and animals (Silem et al. 2006).
Pharmacological Activities
Some authors have correlated the presence of phenolics with
antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in apricots (Voi et al.
1995; Guclu et al. 2006; Sochor et al. 2010), and in other
yellow/orange fruits (Kobayashi et al. 2008; Vieira et al.
2009; Rufino et al. 2010; Vinha et al. 2012a, b). Oils, fats
and other organic compounds easily lose their stability and
produce free radicals during oxidative deterioration. These
radicals can be scavenged by antioxidants, thus an
antioxidant- rich diet is vital for health (Karpinska et al.
2001). In a screening study on antioxidant activity, the bitter
apricot seed extract displayed a very low radical scavenging
effect against DPPH and in ferric-reducing antioxidant power
(FRAP) assay (Liu et al. 2009). Most of phenolic compounds
(determined by measuring absorbance of the extract solutions
after incubating them with Folin-Ciocalteu reagent) occurring
in fruits exhibit antioxidant activity (Kalyoncu et al. 2009).
Apricot fruits are known to have a beneficial effect on human
health because of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory and
immune-stimulating functions that can be attributed to the
content of many phenolic compounds (Madrar et al. 2009).
The seed extracts of Prunus species were shown to pos-
sess different biological activites listed (Table 5.). New
flavonoid derivatives was isolated from butanol extract
of P. armeniaca which shows antimicrobial activity
(Rashid et al. 2007). Methanol extracts of the plant shows
antimicrobial activity against gram –ve bacteria (Yigit
et al. 2009). Ugras et al. 2010 reported apricot possesses
ameliorative & preventive effect on oxidative damage. Oil
extracted from kernel oil causes increase in activity of
enzmes as shown by Kutlu et al. 2009. Scebba et al.
Table 1 (continued)
derivatives, flavonols,
and anthocyanins,
3-glucoside, gallic, caffeic, pcoumaric, and ferulic acids
quercetin-3-rhamnoglucoside (or rutin), and kaempferol-3-
rutinoside and protocatechuic acid, prunin, procyanidins B2,
B3 and C1 were characterized for the first time in apricot fruits
Dragovic-Uzelac et al. 2005
21. Fruit juice Volatile contents Limonene, α (E,E)-farnesene, linalool, α-terpinolene, and
megastigma-4,6,8-triene.
Riu-Aumatell et al. 2004
22. Fruit Aroma compounds terpene profile including linalool, ocinienol, α-terpineol, nerol,
geraniol, cis- and trans-linalool oxide, γ-decalactone, γ-
dodecalactone, and ethyl cinnamate, ethyl acetate, hexyl
acetate, limonene, β- cyclocitral, γ-decalactone, 6-methyl-5-
hepten-2-one, linalool, β-ionone, menthone, and
(E)-hexen-2-al
Genovese et al. 2004; Aubert
and Chanforan 2007; Solís-
Solís et al. 2008
23. Fruit Aroma compounds/
Flavonoids
(R)-γ-decalactone, (E)-β-damascenone, δ-decalactone, and
(R/S)-linalool, two new flavonoid derivatives 4,5,7-trihydroxy
flavone-7-O-[β-D-mannopyranosyl (l′″→2″)]-β-D-
allopyranoside and 3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxy-3′,5′-di-methoxy
flavone 3-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (l′″→6″)]-β-
Dgalactopyranoside were isolated from butanol extract.
Greger and Schieberle 2007;
Fahima Rashid 2006;
Ahmed et al. 2002, 2004a, b
I. Rai et al.

2001 tabulated antioxidant activity showed by leaf extract
(Fig. 1).
Antimicrobial activity was also reported by many au-
thors. Oil extract from Kernels were active against the
gram negative bacteria (Yigit et al. 2009). Popa et al.
(2011), Abtani et al. (2008) showed antibacterial activity
against gram negative, gram positive and fungal strains.
Sehgal and Lamba 2012, determined the extract of fruits
of P.armeniaca. Gahloth and Sharma (2010) and Matsuda
et al. 1994 reported Enzyme Inhibitory Activity.
According to Akcicek et al. (2005) and Chang et al.
(2006) reported that apricot oil can be used against tu-
mours, swellings and ulcers. Sehgal et al. (2010) and
Arya (2011) showed the fruit of antitubercular activity.
Uses of Apricot Fruits and Kernels
It is consumed fresh and in smaller amounts processed to
juice, puree, jam, and dried fruit (Radi et al. 1997; Schmitzer
et al. 2011). The kernel is added to bakery products as whole
kernel or grounded and also consumed as appetizers (Demir
and Cronin 2005). Apricot kernels are mainly used in the
production of oils. The apricot kernel and oil have been used
in cosmetics, pharmaceutical agent for various diseases, vag-
inal infections, tumors and ulcers (Rieger 2006). Amygdalin
or vitamin B17 was first isolated in the year 1830, in 1845, it
was used to treat cancer in Russia and in very small amounts
amygdalin has been reported to be used for preventing and
treating asthma, cough, constipation, migraine, hypertension,
chronic inflammation, and other reaction source diseases and
for the treatment of cancer, to improve cerebral function
(Ghasemhezhad et al. 2010; Chevallier 1996; Toshiyuki
Table 2 Chemical constituents of P. armeniaca L. Seed oil
1. Kernel Nutrients Protein (14.1–45.35 %), oil (27.7–66.7 %), and ash content
(1.7–2.9 %). Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, a-
tocopherol, and d-tocopherol
Alpaslan and Hayta 2006;
Slover et al. 1983
2. Seed Nutrients Moisture 6.86 %, oil 44.3 %, Protein 31.18 %, Fiber 1.94 %,
Carbohydrate 15.61 %.
Bachheti et al. 2012
3. Kernel Amino acid(Protein) 84.7 % albumin, 7.65 % globulin, 1.17 % prolamin, and
3.54 % glutelin, non-protein nitrogen comprises 1.17 %,
and other proteins comprise 1.85 %. Essential amino acids
are arginine (21.7–30.5 %) and leucine (16.2–21.6 %),
and the predominant non essential amino acid is glutamic
acid (49.9–68.0 %).
Abd El-Aal et al. 1986a, b;
Kamel and Kakuda 1992
4. Seed Sugar Total sugar content has been reported as 4.10–7.76 % and
invert sugar content as 5.86 %.
Pala et al. 1996
5. Seed oil Fatty acids/ Minerals Oleic acid (58.3–73.58 %) and linoleic acid (18.8–31.7 %).
The mineral content ranges (mg/100 g dry matter) are as
follows: Na, 35.2–36.8; K, 473–570; Ca, 1.8–2.4; Mg,
113–290; Fe, 2.14–2.82; and Zn, 2.33–3.15.
Alpaslan and Hayta 2006;
Bachheti et al. 2012
6. Seed oil Fatty acids/Sterols Major fatty acids were identified as palmitic acid (5.2 %),
oleic acid (61.4 %), and linoleic acid (26.6 %), β-
sitosterol (71.8 %), stigmasterol (4.3 %) Campesterol, and
sitosterol, Four tocopherol and six phytosterol isomers,
among these, g-tocopherol and b-sitosterol were
predominant
Ul’chenko et al. 2009; Alpaslan
and Hayta 2006; Turan et al. 2007
7. Seed cyanogenic glucoside Amygdalin (or vitamin B17) 3–4 % Yan et al. 2006; Frohne and Pfander
2005; Akinci-Yildirim and Askin
2010; Niels 1996
Table 3 Oil content variation in seed of P. armeniaca L
% Yield References
44.0 Joshi et al. 1986
53.17 Salem and Salem. 1973
49.93 Halloba et al. 1977
52.0 Beyer and Melton. 1990
44.3 Bachheti et al. 2012
50.0 Abd El-Aal et al. 1986a, b
47.0 Gandhi et al. 1997
27.7–66.7 Alpaslan and Hayta 2006
46.3–51.4 Ozcan 2000
43.0–53.0 Femenia et al. 1995
45.6–46.3 Gupta et al. 2012
35–45 Dang et al. 1964; Anonymous 2005
50.05–57.97 Kumar and Bhan 2010

et al. 2003; Milazzo et al. 2006; Hiromi 1995). A health care
tea for patients with dry mouth and tongue, dry excrement,
anorexia, disturbed sleep, etc. has been proportionally pre-
pared from apricot kernel (Jinyi 2006). Mixture of sweet apri-
cot kernel, peach kernel, and walnut kernel used for curing
upper respiratory tract infection, acute and chronic bronchitis,
asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis, etc. with a certain therapeutic
effect (Jiang and Hai 2002). A disease-preventing black plume
apricot kernel liquor was prepared for suppressing thrombosis,
relaxing cough and asthma, delaying senility (Lie 2002).
Apricot kernels used in preparation of an abrasive substance
for skin cleansing (Guenter and Friebel 2008). Apricot kernel
oil can be stored at ambient temperature (20 °C) after adding
0.02 % tert-butylhydroquinone, followed by packing in
amber-colored glass bottles and polyethylene pouches
(Gupta and Sharma 2009). The oil of apricot kernels has been
used in Germany and the United States in preparing fixed oil,
macaroon paste and enrichment of noodles (Femenia et al.
1995; Eyidemir and Hayta 2009). The detoxified apricot ker-
nel flour and protein isolates appear to be good sources of
protein for food products (Abd El-Aal et al. 1986b).
Apricot kernel yoghurt was made using apricot kernels
(Suping and Wenjuan 2003). Apricot kernels have been re-
ported to play an important role in the industrial production of
marzipan in some countries (Groves 1983). The importance of
the plant is well realized specially in dry temperate region for
fuel, fodder, feed, small timber and is one of the important
multipurpose trees in the region under existing system of
agro-forestry (Singh and Chaudhary 1993). The fruit of wild
apricot is unfit for table purpose due to high acids and low
sugars. The apricot has been used in folk medicine as a rem-
edy for various skin diseases (Sharma et al. 1977; Nagarajan
and Parmar 1977a, b); parasitic diseases (Lily and Metzger
1980; Gupta and Bahar 1985; Gilani et al. 2010). A decoction
of the plant bark has functioned as an astringent to soothe
irritated skin. The oil is utilized for cooking, body massage
and as raw material for cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry
(Parmar and Sharma 1992). The P. armeniaca seed oil can be
used as biodiesel and oil cake as organic manure (Gumus and
Kasifoglu 2010; Ullah et al. 2009).
Conclusion
This review shows that P. armeniaca L., is one of the universal
deciduous plant having number of important secondary me-
tabolites such as polyphenols, carotenoids, fatty acids, vola-
tiles, polysaccharides, metals/minerals and shows various
pharmacological/ medicinal activities like anti cancer, anti-ox-
idant, anti–microbial and also to treat skin infections, CNS
dysfunction, and genitourinary infections. It contains various
polyphenols which acts free radical scavenger as antioxidant
compound and doesn’t allow them to damage the cell. It ex-
hibits toxicity against various cell lines and can be used as an
effective anticancer agent. It moreover has a great scope of
being an effective antimicrobial agent since it showed good
activity against various microbes. Wild apricot seed have
higher yield of oil over 40 %, which is comparable to the oil
yield of some commercial seed oils such as groundnut, mus-
tard, linseed, almond, sunflower and coconut oil. Many of the
physico-chemical properties of the seed oil studied have close
similarity with other edible seed oils. However, because of the
lack of systematic collection and utilization of apricot kernels,
this valuable product with a major industrial potential remains
unexploited and this review screening could be used as base-
line data to develop wild apricot oil for both domestic and
industrial purposes. Promotion and cultivation of this tree in
the Garhwal region of Northern India could be undertaken for
the large-scale production of the oil.
Table 4 Variations in % of Fatty acid profile of P. armeniaca L. seed oil
Palmitic
(C16:0),%
Palmitoleic
(16:1),%
Stearic
(18:0)%
Oleic
(18:1)%
Linoleic
(18:2)%
Linolenic
(18:3)%
Myristic
(14:0)%
References
3.9 – – 66.2 28.2 – – Gandhi et al. 1997
3.2–10.7 – – 51.0–83.3 9.6–45.9 – – Femenia et al. 1995
4.5–6.6 0.6–0.9 1.7 58.3–73.4 18.8–31.7 % 0.1–1.2 Alpaslan and Hayta 2006
4.37 0.12 0.46 66.29 28.64 0.12 3.8 Dang et al. 1964
5.2 – – 61.4 26.6 – Ul’chenko et al. 2009
4.92 – 1.21 70.83 21.96 – Turan et al. 2007
3.5–5.04 0.56–0.91 0.34–1.22 61.2–71.2 14.13–22.83 – Dwivedi and Ram 2008
3.37 – 2.68 73.58 19.26 – Bachheti et al. 2012
3.5 – 2.0 73.4 20.0 – 1.1 Gupta et al. 2012
– – – 43.58–68.65 16.80–34.77 – – Orhan et al. 2008
– – – 52.41–80.76 12.19–39.79 – – Mandal et al. 2007
I. Rai et al.

Table 5 Pharmacological activites of P. armeniaca L
S. No. Pharmacological activity Activity screening References
1. Antioxidant activity Peeled, defatted and roasted apricot kernel flours
were evaluated for antioxidant test.
Durmaz and Alpaslan 2007
Both water and methanol extracts of sweet apricot kernels
have high antioxidant potential.
Yigit et al. 2009
The polyphenolic fraction obtained from the seeds of P. armeniaca
of Turkish origin was tested for its in vitro antioxidant activity
using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide
radical scavenging methods.
Orhan et al. 2003
Antiradical activity examined against DPPH/ cupric ion-reducing
antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) /2,2′-azinobis(3-
ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) /hydroxyl /
superoxide/ Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity radical
scavenging methods and shows highest scavenging activity.
Apricot possesses ameliorative and preventive effect on
oxidative damage.
Ishiwaba et al. 2004;
Guclu et al. 2006;
Leccese et al. 2008;
Vardi et al. 2008;
Kurus et al. 2009;
Ugras et al. 2010
Apricot kernel oil caused a significant increase in activity of
enzymes which effect improvement in liver antioxidant.
Kutlu et al. 2009
Methanolic extract of leaf also show good antioxidant activity
determined by enzyme analysis, pigment analysis and protein
extraction parameters.
Scebba et al. 2001
Different extracts of fruit were tested four antioxidant activity by
DPPH method and results shows IC 50 values as 40.1,35.5 %
for butanol and ethyl acetate extract respectively, ethanolic and
methanolic extracts shows lower percent inhibition.
Rashid et al. 2005
2. Antimicrobial activity Methanol extracts of the bitter kernels were highly active against the
Gram-negative bacteria, E. coli and was significantly active towards
Candida albicans.
Yigit et al. 2009
The butanol extract obtained from the fruits of P. armeniaca growing
in Pakistan was evaluated for its antibacterial activity against 20
Gram-positive and 13 Gram-negative bacteria, 10 methicillin
resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates as well as
2 nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM)
Rashid et al. 2007;
Ahmed et al. 2004a, b
Different extracts of apricot indicate remarkable antibacterial
activity against gram negative, gram positive and fungal strains.
Panda 2004; Rangari 2002; Yoga
Narasimhan 2000; Madhu 2002;
Abtani et al. 2008; Popa et al. 2011
Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of fruits of Prunus armeniaca (L.). were
tested against human pathogenic microorganisms using disc diffusion
method and zone of inhibition of each active extract was determined.
Sehgal and Lamba 2012
3. Antimutagenic activity The hexane extract of Semen armeniacae was evaluated for
its antimutagenic activity using Ames/ Salmonella/
microsome assay on mutagenicity.
Yamamoto et al. 1992
4. Enzyme inhibitory activity Apricot showed a strong inhibitory activity against tyrosinase,
which is the key enzyme on melanin biosynthesis and
trypsin, a plant proteinase which is important for plant
defense against pests and predators.
Matsuda et al. 1994;
Gahloth and Sharma 2010
5. Cardioprotective activity The dried fruits of P. armeniaca were studied for its cardioprotective
activity using ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury model in urethane
anesthetized rats.
Parlakpinar et al. 2009;
6. Hepatoprotective activity The protective effect of 10 and 20 % apricot-containing feed on carbon
tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic steatosis and damage was
examined in adult male Wistar rats which show protective effect.
Ozturk et al. 2009;
Kshirsagar et al. 2011
7. Anti-inflammatory and
antinociceptive activity
The seed extract of P. armeniaca was show anti-inflammatory
and antinociceptive activity.
Chang et al. 2005; Lee and Ryu 2000;
Hwang et al. 2008
8. Antitubercular activity Prunus armeniaca fruit shows antitubercular activity. Sehgal et al. 2010; Arya 2011
9. Anticancer Activity Due to presence of cyanogenic glycosides (mainly amygdalin)
in seeds it is reported to be used as a medicament for the treatment
of cancer. Laetrile, a purported alternative treatment for cancer has also
been extracted from apricot seeds. Apricot oil is in use against tumors,
swellings, and ulcers even from the seventeenth century.
Akcicek et al. 2005; Chang et al. 2006

1. 4 ,5,7-trihydroxy flavone-7-O-[β-D-mannopyranosyl (l 2 )]-β-D-allopyranoside
2. 3,4 ,5,7-tetrahydroxy-3 ,5 -di-methoxyflavone3-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(l 6 )]-β-galactopyranoside.
3. 5,2’-Dihydroxy 3-O-tridecyl 7-ene flavone 4. 3 ,16 ,19 ,24-Tetrahydroxyloleane-12-ene-28-oic acid
5. 3 ,16 ,19 ,24-Tetrahydroxyloleane-12-ene-28-oic acid 6. 3 -Hydroxyoleane-12-ene
7. 3 -Acetoxyoleane-12-ene 8. 3-Oxo-D:A-friedooleanane
Fig. 1 Chemical structures of active constituents in P. armeniaca L. Source [Nagarajan and Parmar 1977a, b; Rawat et al. 1999; Kaldzeji et al. 1991;
Rashid 2006; Tuncel et al. 1998; Shimomura et al. 1989; Henning and Herrmann 1980]
I. Rai et al.

HOH2C
OH
OH OH
OO
6'' 1'
9. 2α, 3β-Dihydroxyloleane-12-ene-28-oic acid
11. Β-Sitosterol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside
13. 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside- oleane-12-ene-28-oic acid
10. 3β,24-Dihydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid
12. 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-stigmasterol
14. 5,7,4’-Trihydroxy-3-methoxy flavanone
15. 3,5,7-Trihydroxy-4’,8-dimethoxy flavanone
17. β-Hydroxyoleane-12-ene-28-oic acid
19. β-Acetoxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid
16. 3,5,7-Trihydroxy-6,4-dimethoxy flavanone
18. 3β- Hydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid
20. 2α,3α-Dihydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid
Fig. 1 (continued)

27. Cerasin
25. Prunetin
21. 2α,3α-Dihydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid
23. 24®-stigmast-5ene-3β-ol
26. Dihydro Kaemferide
22. 2α,3α-24-Trihydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid
24. Stigmasta-5,22-diene-3β--ol
29. 3-hydroxytriterpenes
31. Prunin
33. Kaempferol
30. Amygdalin
32. Linalool
34. Quercetin
28. Produmestin
Fig. 1 (continued)
I. Rai et al.

Acknowledgments The authors are thankful to Graphic Era University,
Dehradun,Uttarakhand, India for providing the necessary facilities for the
research work.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Ethical Statement N/A
Conflict of Interest The authors hereby declare no conflict of interest.
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