Comprehensive Nutritional Profiling of Kernels in 141 Apricot Cultivars Based on Amino Acids, Fatty Acids, Vitamins, and Mineral Elements

Apricot kernels are nutritionally valuable and possess both edible and medicinal properties. However, there is little published data on the differences in kernel nutrition among a large number of cultivars, which has limited the development and utilization of specialty apricot processed products. In this study, 15 nutritional components were measured in kernels of 141 apricot cultivars, followed by comprehensive statistical analyses including genetic diversity, principal component, correlation, and cluster analyses, along with a comprehensive evaluation. The genetic diversity index (H′) for all indicators exceeded 1.0, with fat, protein, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and vitamin E showing H′ > 2.0, indicating nutritional diversity among cultivars. Correlation analysis revealed that fat content was significantly positively correlated with oleic acid, palmitic acid, and total fatty acids (r > 0.7), while oleic acid was negatively correlated with vitamin E and γ-tocopherol. The first five principal components accounted for 75.614% of the total variance, effectively capturing the essential information of the 15 traits. Cluster analysis at a Euclidean distance of 19.5 divided the 141 accessions into five groups, each with distinctive nutritional profiles. Based on the comprehensive evaluation of 15 nutritional components, the apricot cultivar ‘Kuhe Honglian’ achieved the highest score, followed by ‘Machuanling’, ‘Guajiayutianhexiangbai’, ‘Guanlaoyelian’, and ‘Graflthan’. These findings provide a foundation for advancing the apricot kernel processing industry and supporting the breeding of functional kernel-apricot varieties.