AMYGDALIN CONTENT IN THE SEEDS OF SEVERAL APRICOT CULTIVARS

Eight different cultivars of apricots (Prunus armeniaca L) have been s tudied regarding the amygdalin content of their seeds to correlate amy gdalin content with known phenotypes to determine if the inheritance o f this trait is controlled in a discrete or quantitative manner. HPLC determination of amygdalin showed large differences between cultivars with sweet and bitter kernels. Also, some significant differences with in groups of bitter and sweet kerneled cultivars were found but they d id not correlate with the phenotypical expression of kernel flavour. F rom the results it is concluded that bitterness seems to be controlled in a discrete manner and that organoleptic evaluation that classifies cultivars or seedlings as bitter or sweet would be enough with no nee d for chemical analysis. (C) 1998 SCI.