Selected dried fruits as a source of nutrients

Dried fruits are an excellent alternative to unhealthy snacks. Twelve commercially available dried fruits were selected: dates, raisins, prunes, Goji berry, chokeberry, rose hip, sea buckthorn, berberis, physalis, haritaki, noni and juniper. The nutritional value in terms of moisture, ash, protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, energy value, mineral composition, antioxidant activ- ity and tannins was compared. It is a novelty in the literature in relation to the particular analytes (e.g., minerals, tannins) and/or fruits (e.g., berberis, noni, haritaki). Especially rich in protein were Goji berry (13.3%), sea buckthorn (9.3%), noni (8.9%) and physalis (8.0%); in fat − sea buckthorn (11.2%); in dietary fiber (4.4–53.0%)− most of analyzed products. High antioxidant capacity was noticed for haritaki, berberis, rose hip, Goji berry, and physalis. An important source of minerals was 100 g of: noni (345 mg of Ca; 251 mg of Mg), rose hip (844 mg of Ca; 207 mg of Mg), juniper (564 mg of Ca), sea buckthorn (58 mg of Fe), berberis (24 mg of Fe) and haritaki (14 mg of Fe). The nutritionally attractive dried fruits have the potential for wider application in food formulations.