16 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 440 



Other "B-Vitamins" 



As may be seen in Table 8 apples contain only relatively small amounts of 

 most of the "B-vitamins." Lanford, Finkelstein and Sherman (1941) found 

 that the citrus fruits, bananas, and tomatoes were richer in riboflavin than the 

 pome fruits as represented by apples and pears. Apples contained 4.3 micrograms 

 of riboflavin per 100 grams. According to American Can Co. (1943) the riboflavin 

 content of apples may range from 0.010 to 0.073 milligrams per 100 grams. 



Tepley, Strong and Elvehjem (1942) reported that peeled apples contained 

 0.50 milligrams of niacin (nicotinic acid) per 100 grams and that the peel contained 

 1.13 milligrams. McVicar and Berryman (1942) reported similar figures. 



According to Jukes (1941) apples are a poor source of pantothenic acid, con- 

 taining less than .03 milligrams per 100 grams on a fresh basis. Likewise, apples 

 are a poor source of pyridoxine according to Schneider, Ascham, Platz anS Steen- 

 bock (1939). 



In studies on the B-vitamin content of foods Cheldelin and Williams (1942) 

 reported the following amounts in terms of milligrams per 100 grams of fresh 

 apple: thiamin, 0.096; riboflavin, 0.018; nicotinic acid, 0.081; pantothenic acid, 

 0.060; pyridoxine, 0.026; biotin, 0.0009; inositol, 24.0; and folic acid, 0.008. 



Ascorbic Acid 



Considerable work has been reported concerning the ascorbic acid content of 

 apples and factors influencing it. One of the first studies on the ascorbic acid 

 content of different varieties of apples grown in the United States was reported 

 by Fellers, Cleveland and Clague (1933) and Smith and Fellers (1934). These 

 workers investigated 21 varieties of Massachusetts-grown apples, which were 

 classified as to their vitamin C potency as follows: 



Very Good Good Fair 



Baldwin Esopus (Spitzenberg) Arkansas 



Northern Spy Rome Beauty Gravenstein 



Ben Davis Red Astrachan Wealthy 



Winesap King Cortland 



Roxbury Russet King David 



Rhode Island Greening Golden Delicious 

 Stayman 



Poor 



Jonathan 

 Delicious 

 Tolman 

 Mcintosh 



In a more recent investigation Fellers and Dunker (1940) evaluated 69 varieties 

 of Massachusetts apples as to their ascorbic acid content, which was found to 

 range from 0.7 to 11.6 milligrams per 100 grams of fresh fruit as shown in Table 

 10. Other workers have found that the ascorbic acid content of apples ranged 

 from 1.0 to 20.8 milligrams per 100 grams. 



Fellers, Isham, and Smith (1932) reported that the epidermis of Baldwin 

 apples contains about four times as much vitamin C as the flesh immediately 

 beneath it, and six to ten times as much as the flesh near the core. Mcintosh 

 apples also contain much more vitamin C in the peel than in the flesh. 



FACTORS AFFECTING COMPOSITION OF APPLES 



As is the case with other agricultural crops, there are a number of factors that 

 may exert an influence on the composition of apples. Because of the extensive 



