Studying some chemical indicators and bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of some kinds of dried fruits sold in local Damascus market

Abstract

This study was carried out in Department of Food Science in Agricultural College, Damascus University, in 2016 season, which included four different kinds of dried fruits sold in local Damascus market (Raisin, fig, apricot, Date), in order to study the effect of types on some chemical indicators (total sugars, pH, ash, acidity and moisture), total phenols, and antioxidant activity according as DPPH. The study also included the microbial content of the samples studied.

The results showed that date samples superiority in their total sugar content and pH, while reducing its percentage of acidity and ash, with content of total sugar (72.81 g /100g dry weight), and percentage of acidity (0.08%). Moreover dried apricot samples exhibited a noticeable increase in total phenol content (10.97 mg/100g dry weight), while raisin samples superiority in their antioxidant activity (83.34%) compared with other samples studied. The study found that the total count of bacteria in all studied species of dried fruits was not less than 7 × 102 cells/gram. Coliform bacteria also was not observed in studied samples, in addition dried fig and raisin samples were found to be contaminated with yeast.