APPLES AS FOOD 



15 



Table 9. — Vitamin Content of Apples as Compared With Other Fruits 



(per 100 grams) 

 (Sherman, 1946) 



Kind of Fruit 



Vitamin A 



Ascorbic Acid Thiamin 



Riboflavin 



I. U. 



Apples 40-100 



Oranges (or juice) 50 - 400 



Peaches, yellow (fresh) ■ 1,000 - 2,000 



Pears 10-20 



Pineapple (fresh) 40-60 



Plums 350 



Raspberries 320 



Rhubarb 30-100 



Strawberries 60-90 



Table 9 shows an evaluation of the apple as a vitamin carrier in comparison 

 with some other fruits. Apples do not rank high as vitamin carriers. In this 

 respect, they are similar in value to pears, plums, and rhubarb. However, the 

 nutritional value of the apple would be greatly misrepresented if it were con- 

 sidered only as a source of vitamins. 



Vitamin A 



Potter (1933) found practically no difference in the vitamin A content of three 

 varieties (Mcintosh, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious) of apples grown in 

 Washington. The presence of yellow pigment in the apple was not related to 

 vitamin A potency. Potter showed that apples are equal to orange juice in 

 vitamin A content and that t,hey compare favorably with other fruits as a source 

 of vitamin A. Fraps and Treichler (1933) indicate that apples are rather an ex- 

 pensive source of vitamins as compared with many other foods. 



Vitamin A occurs in apples and in all plants only as carotene. There is some 

 question as to the equivalent potencies of vitamin A and carotene. Recent re- 

 search seems to show equal or nearly equal potencies, although the usual conver- 

 sion factor is 1.0 International Unit of vitamin A = 0.66 micrograms of carotene. 



In compilation of data on the vitamin content of foods, Daniel and Munsell 

 (1937) indicated that fresh apples contained from 58 to 147 I.U. of vitamin A 

 per 100 grams. Todhunter (1937) reported that the peel of Richared apples was 

 at least five times as rich in vitamin A as the flesh of the apple. Delicious apples 

 contained approximately 102 I.U. per 100 grams of apple. 



Tliiamin 



The thiamin content of apples is low, and the}^ cannot be considered an impor- 

 tant source of this vitamin. Lane, Johnson and Williams (1942) in a study of 

 sources of thiamin in the American diet, used apples which contained .019 milli- 

 grams per 100 grams. W hen apples were made into applesauce, approximately 30 

 percent of the thiamin was destroyed during heating. Cheldelin and Williams 

 (1942) analyzed apples that contained 0.096 milligrams of thiamin per 100 grams. 

 In a compilation of information on the vitamin content of foods, American Can 

 Company (1943) indicated that apples contained from 0.010 to 0.69 milligrams of 

 thiamin per 100 grams. The thiamin content varied with the variety. 



