Effect of Commercial Processing on Vitamin B6 Retention in Almonds

The effect of commercial processing (blanching and/or roasting) on total vitamin B6 retention in processed almonds (Prunus amygdalus, Batsch) was investigated. The yeasts Saccharomyces uvarum and Kloeckera apiculata were used as comparative test organisms for the assay. Different values for vitamin B6 content were obtained from the same samples by using different test organisms. The use of K. apiculata resulted in significantly higher values for total vitamin B6 content than those obtained using S. uvarum. These differences in vitamin B6 values could be attributed to the inherent differences in the nutritional requirements of the two yeasts to vitamin B6 and to the differences in the natural responses of the two organisms towards the different forms of vitamin B6. The overall results obtained indicate that both blanching and roasting processes resulted in some loss of vitamin B6 content. Roasted almonds retained approximately 76% (with S. uvarum) and 74% (with K. apiculata) of their initial vitamin B6 content. Similarly, blanched almonds retained 88% (with S. uvarum) and 87% (with K. apiculata) of their initial vitamin B6 content. Almonds that were blanched and then roasted retained approximately 78% (with S. uvarum) and 73% (with K. apiculata) of their initial vitamin B6 content. The total vitamin B6 content of the natural unprocessed (raw) almonds was 0.83 μg/g (with S. uvarum) and 1.74 μg/g (with K. apiculata) on a dry-weight basis. These values were used as the basis for calculating the percent retention in the processed almond samples.