Annals. Food Science and Technology 2015 Available on-line at www.afst.valahia.ro 175 Volume 16, Issue 1, 2015 APRICOT: NUTRITIONAL POTENTIALS AND HEALTH BENEFITS-A REVIEW Sartaj Ali 1* , Tariq Masud 2 , Kashif Safraz Abbasi 3 ,Talat Mahmood 4 , Azhar Hussain 1 1 Department of Agriculture and Food Technology, Karakoram International University, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, 2 Department of Food Technology, PirMehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 3 Department of Agriculture, University of Haripur, HazaraKhayberPakhtunKhawa, Pakistan 4 Director Quality Enhancement Cell, University of Haripur, Hazara, KPK, Pakistan E-mail: sartaj_kiu@yahoo.com , ABSTRACT Recent advances in food and nutrition have shifted the consumer preferences towards nutraceutical rich foods. In addition to natural antioxidant defense system, there are external sources furnished via diet to quench free radicals and reactive oxygen species produced in the biological systems. Apricot occupies a distinct position among stone fruits due to its multifaceted compositional contour and significant functional potentials. It has a rich nutritional content in terms of sugars (more than 60%) proteins (8%), crude fiber (11.50%), crude fat (2%), total minerals (4%), vitamins(highly rich in vitamin A, C, K and B complex) and reasonable quantities of organic acids (citric acid and malic acid) on dry weight basis.Literature reports appreciable amounts of total phenolic and flavonoids in the fruit which make them more valuable as functional food. The fruit has a great market value as fresh and dried food commodity and has the highest market share of agricultural income in Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan.Dried fruits are taken as an energy rich food in the mountainous Karakoram region and have many uses in folk medicine for treatment of cold, fever, cough and constipation. Owing to its bioactive components of pharmacological importance, it has been found effective against chronic gastritis, oxidative intestinal damage, hepatic steatosis, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and tumor formation. The present review is an attempt to collect and disseminate available information regarding nutritional and health potentials in apricot for the benefit of researchers, consumers and other stakeholders. Key words: apricot nutrition, bioactive composition, free radicals, antioxidants, pharmacological importance Submitted: 23.10.2014 Reviewed: 14.01.2015 Accepted: 20.02.2015 1.INTRODUCTION Apricot (Prunusarmeniaca L.) belongs to family Rosaceae. In angiosperms, Rosaceae is one of the largest families having about 3,400 species including almonds, peaches, apples, plums, cherries and berries, distributed throughout the northern temperate regions of the globe. Apricot has been named by Romans most probably from the mixed accent of two words “praecocia” from Latin meaning “early matured”, since apricots were ripen during early summer as compared to ancient Asian peaches or “albarquq” from Arabic, meaning short ripening period (Anonymus, 2008). It is a temperate fruit and grown in climates with well-differentiated seasons. It requires a fairly cold winter and moderately high temperatures in the spring and early summer(Ahmadiet al., 2008;Gucluet al.,2006). Botanically, apricots are drupes like peaches, plums, cherries and mangoes in which the outer fleshy part (exocarp and mesocarp) surrounds a hard stone (endocarp) with a seed inside. Fruit color ranges between orange to orange red and some cultivars are cream white to greenish white (Ruiz et al.,2005;Riu-Aumatellet al.,2005).Amongst the drupes, apricot and plum belongs to genusPrunuswhich is differentiated from other sub genera Amygalus, Cerasus and Padus in the shoots having a terminal bud and auxiliary buds being solitary. The flowers are sessile, white, with five regular sepals, petals and stamens that open early before leaves in the spring. Apricot originated in China and its cultivation history dates back to 2000 BC (Crisostoet al.,1999; Faust et al.,1996). It gradually made its way through the Persian Empire in to the Mediterranean, where they were best adapted. This fruit has also been grown in mountainous  2015 Valahia University Press Further reproduction without permission is prohibited