Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Oil

Abstract

The apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an important agricultural crop that widely cultivated in most of the Mediterranean and Central Asian countries. As known, the fruit of apricot has an important place in human nutrition, and can be consumed as fresh or processed. World apricot production is about 2.5 million tonnes. However, apricot kernels are produced as byproducts and often considered a waste product of fruits processing industry. They have potential to be economically-valuable resource, since they are a rich source of dietary protein as well as fiber. In addition, the kernels are considered as potential sources of oils. Apricot kernels have a high oil yield, which is comparable to the commonly used oils of oilseed crops such as soybean, canola and sunflower. Oil from these kernels can be obtained by solvent extraction or cold pressing method. The oil contains a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids and is a rich source of minor compounds such as sterols, tocochromanols and squalene, hence attracting interest for the utilization in food and pharmaceutical industry. Due to its nutritional chemical composition and functional properties, apricot kernel oil can be used as edible oil and in many applications like food products formulation, cosmetics as well as functional and medicinal supplements. In this chapter, particular attention has also been given to the composition and applications of kernel oil.