Comparative analysis of the essential elements content in the Chaenomeles and apricot fruits

Small fruit crops are valued for a high content of biologically active compounds. Their fruits are often used in development and production of functional foods. To substantiate the use of the Chaenomeles fruits in health food, the analysis of 7 essential macro- and microelements content was made in comparison with apricot fruits, known for their dietary properties. Sixteen genotypes of Chaenomeles and apricots from the Nikitа Botanical Gardens collection have been evaluated. The analysis of the plant samples was carried out by a dry ashing with a subsequent determination of the most elements on the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Calcium and magnesium were determined by a complex metric method. It has been established that the Chaenomeles fruits are not only inferior, but also have a slight advantage on accumulation of the essential elements in comparison with apricots (the total amount is 17,173.23 and 15,105.45 mg 100 g^‑1, respectively). On average, the Chaenomeles fruits significantly exceed apricot fruits by the content of calcium by 6.5 times, copper by 8 times and manganese by 2.6 times. The amount of magnesium and zinc in them is almost the same. The accumulation of potassium and iron is very close, only in the content of iron the Chaenomeles fruits exceed the apricot fruits, and in terms of the amount of potassium inferior to them by 1.3 times. The content of the studied chemical elements greatly varies within both cultures, which indicates the appropriateness of the individual selection. The average degree of variability is characteristic only for potassium in apricot and Chaenomeles fruits (16-20%), magnesium in apricot fruits (16.8%) and zinc in Chaenomeles (20.9%). The maximum amount of calcium (479.1 mg 100 g^‑1), magnesium (163.2 mg 100 g^‑1) and copper (0.37 mg 100 g^‑1) was detected in the accessions of Chaenomeles fruits. The apricot fruits were marked by the maximum amount of potassium (2305.8 mg 100 g^‑1), iron (2.14 mg 100 g^‑1) and zinc (1.38 mg 100 g^‑1). Thus, the Chaenomeles fruits represent valuable raw materials enriched with vital macro- and microelements superior to the fruits of apricot or comparable.