A Comparison of Apricots and Their Carotene Equivalent as Sources of Vitamin A

Abstract

The carotene content of fresh frozen, sulfured sun-dried and unsulfured sun-dried apricots of similar origin was determined by pyridine and by acetone-ether extraction followed by colorimetric estimation. The pyridine was found to extract the dried samples more completely and easily than did the acetone-ether. The loss of carotene in the dried fruit was 36 and 41 per cent. The vitamin A activity of these fruit samples was determined biologically and the loss of vitamin in the dried specimens was found to be 50 to 75 per cent. The vitamin A activity of crude carotene, melting point 162°–164°, was found to be less than that of the crystalline carotene, melting point 180°, made from it. The apricots were seen to yield vitamin A in nearly the amounts indicated by their carotene content when compared with the vitamin value of similar doses of the crystalline carotene. The possible significance of this correlation is discussed.