*2.2. E*ff*ects of Roasting and Blanching on the Content of Bioactive Compounds in Almond*

Processing had a significant effect on the content of bioactive compounds in all almond cultivars (Table 1). Analysis of the results showed higher levels of phenolics in roasted kernels relative to raw kernels as observed in previous studies [19–21]. The above observation may be related to the potential increase in phenol extractability after the destruction of cellular structures in roasted kernels. In blanched almonds, the total phenolic content was generally reduced when compared to raw almonds

although no significant effect was found for Casanova, Ferragnès, and Glorieta. Since blanched samples were also roasted, it may be assumed that the observed reductions in the total phenolic content in blanched kernels are due to skin removal. Indeed, 70–100% of almond phenolics is present in the skin [22] which is removed during blanching. Similarly, blanching led to reduced levels of flavonoids in the kernels. Accordingly, the total flavonoid content was similar for all cultivars after blanching but lower than contents in both raw and roasted samples. In general, roasting had no effect on the total flavonoid content of almond cultivars except for a 58% decrease for Molar and a 72% decrease for Refêgo. The above results are in contradiction to the increase in total phenolic content observed in all cultivars after roasting and might be an indication of the degradation of more complex phenolic structures such as polymerized proanthocyanidins and glycosylated flavonoids at high temperatures [19–21].


**Table 1.** Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities of raw and processed almond kernels (mean f.w., n = 3).

Different small letters in front of mean within a column indicate significant differences among cultivars for the same treatment. Different capital letters in front of mean within a row indicate significant differences among treatments for the same cultivar (*p* < 0.05, ANOVA Tukey's test).
