Diseases and effects: anemia, hypovitaminosis, beriberi, cardiovascular diseases.
Active substances: ascorbic acid, vitamin B, P, provitamin A, iron, silver, carotene, sugar, inulin, large citric and tartaric acid, flavonoid substances of quercetin, isoquercitrin, lycopene, tannins, starch, amygdalin glycoside.
Rosaceae family (Rosaceae)\r
Spreading
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A fruit tree that is cultivated in many subtropical states and in some temperate regions. In large areas, apricots are cultivated in Russia, Ukraine, America, Australia, Hungary and Iran. The best varieties in terms of sugar content, size and content of vitamins in the area are grown in Fergana and Samarkand.\r
Chemical composition
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Apricot fruits contain a large amount of ascorbic acid, vitamins B, P, provitamin A, which gives the fruit pulp an orange color. In addition, the fruits contain iron, silver, carotene, sugar, inulin, a large amount of citric and tartaric acids (the content of malic acid is non-cordinal), as well as flavonoid substances – quercetin, isoquercitrin, lycopene, etc. Tannins, starch, a significant amount of mineral salts. In dried apricot fruits (dried apricots), the sugar content sometimes reaches 80-85%, and therefore they are of great nutritional and medicinal value. The seeds contain vitamin B 15 and up to 76% fatty oil. The glycoside amygdalin gives apricot seeds a bitter taste.\r
Application
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Apricot fruits are eaten fresh, they are pleasant in taste, have a great nutritional value, and aroma. They are also subjected to various food processing – dried, processed into juices, all kinds of canned food, jams, compotes are made. To meet the daily human need for ascorbic acid, 3/4 cup of apricot juice is enough. Especially popular is dried apricots, which are widely used in dietary nutrition. All kinds of alcoholic and soft drinks are prepared from apricots.\r
The medicinal value of apricot fruits is due to the high content of ascorbic acid, vitamins A, B 15 , carotene, trace elements, mineral salts and other substances in them. It has been established that 100 g of apricots affect the process of hematopoiesis in the same way as 40 mg of iron or 250 g of fresh liver, which determines the medicinal value of these fruits for people suffering from anemia. Fresh apricots are widely used in dietary nutrition, they are recommended for children with hypo- and beriberi. Dried apricots, apricot juice are useful for pregnant women and patients with cardiovascular diseases.\r
Eating apricot seeds, due to their toxicity, requires great care. There are known cases of poisoning of the population when eating large quantities of apricot seeds. They should be consumed no more than 20 g per reception, after grinding and preparing their emulsion.\r
Apricot oil, made from apricot seeds, is used as a solvent in the manufacture of various medicinal products and finished medicinal forms.