ANTIOXIDANT VITAMIN CONTENTS OF CAPSICUM ANNUUM FRUIT EXTRACTS - AS AFFECTED BY PROCESSING AND VARIETAL FACTORS

Aug 26, 2026

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The study investigates how technological processing alters the chemical composition and antioxidant-related constituents in Capsicum annuum extracts. Lyophilization was followed by evaporation under two conditions: 35°C/70 mbar and 50°C/400 mbar. Four cultivars were compared, including two sweet and two hot types, with changes in vitamins C and E, β-carotene, xanthophylls, and phenolic compounds measured. Extracts from milder conditions showed higher vitamin C, vitamin E, β-carotene, total phenols, and stronger DPPH radical-scavenging activity. Hot-fruit extracts contained higher vitamin E and β-carotene, while sweet extracts showed greater antioxidant properties and phenolic levels.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

Dietary antioxidants and protective mechanisms

Pepper as a source of antioxidants

Technological processing and antioxidant degradation

AIM

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Plant material and cultivar selection

Preparation of ethanolic extracts

Antioxidants content determination

Vitamin C

Carotenoids and xanthophylls

Phenolic compounds

Vitamin E

Antioxidant activity determination (DPPH)

ANTIOXIDANT VITAMIN CONTENTS OF CAPSICUM ANNUUM FRUIT EXTRACTS AS AFFECTED BY PROCESSING AND VARIETAL FACTORS Irena Perucka, Ma􀀊gorzata Materska Agricultural University of Lublin Abstract. The presented work defines the influence of technological process on chemical composition of peppers. The technological treatments made in this work were: lyophilization and samples evaporation. Evaporation process was conducted in two conditions of temperature and pressure: I – 35°C and 70 mbar, II – 50°C and 400 mbar. The working material consisted of four pepper cultivars, two sweet: ‘King Artur’ and ‘Red Knight’, and two hot: ‘Capel Hot’ and ‘Robustini’. The changes of vitamins C and E, β-carotene, xanthophylls and phenolic compounds were investigated as processing and cultivar factors. Additionally antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds was evaluated by method with DPPH radical. The extracts prepared in conditions I had a significantly higher concentration of vitamin C, E, β-carotene, total phenol and antioxidant properties than the extracts obtained at the higher temperature and under the higher pressure. It was found that extracts obtained from hot fruits had a higher vitamin E and β-carotene contents than from the sweet ones. However, the extracts from sweet varieties were characterized by higher antioxidant properties and phenolic compounds than the ones obtained from hot peppers. Key words: Capsicum annuum L., antioxidants INTRODUCTION Dietary antioxidants are beneficial because of their protective roles against multiple diseases such as cancer, anemia, diabetics and cardiovascular diseases. The compounds perform their function by counteracting the oxidizing effects on lipids by scavenging highly reactive oxygen free radicals, the major oxidizing factors for the oxidative modification of low density lipoprotein and nucleic acids. Among the protective mechanism against radicals, antioxidant vitamins (vitamin E, C and β-carotene) are of special interest [Kaur and Kapoor 2001] . Pepper fruits are a rich source of antioxidants [Palevitch and Craker 1995, Howard et al. 2000, Marin et al. 2004] . They have a high level of vitamins C and E as well as Corresponding author – Adres do korespondencji: Prof. dr hab. Irena Perucka, Department of Chemistry of Agricultural University of Lublin, Akademicka 15, 20-950 Lublin, Poland, e-mail: [irena.perucka@ar.lublin.pl](irena.perucka@ar.lublin.pl) 68 I. Perucka, M. Materska carotenoids and xanthophylls. The total of antioxidants is completed by phenolic compounds, which occur in peppers in connection with sugars [Materska et al. 2003 a, b] . The level of antioxidants differs between cultivars, generally hot peppers are a better source of them, than the sweet ones. Additionally, hot peppers contain capsaicinoids – alkaloids specific for Capsicum genus, which show many pharmacological properties [Szolcsanyi 2004] . It is obvious, that fresh pepper is the best source of antioxidants and all technological factors, as freezing, lyophilization, boiling, blanching, etc., implicate degradation of those compounds. The rapidity of antioxidant degradation varies depending upon conditions of the technological process. Freeze drying is one of the most sophisticated dehydration methods. Very important advantage is that freeze drying is accomplished at relatively low temperatures and the various heat-sensitive biological compounds are not damaged [Krokida and Philippopoulos 2006] . The aim of this work was to investigate the influence preparation conditions of extracts obtained from lyophilized pepper fruit on the content of the main pepper antioxidants: vitamins C and E, phenolic compounds, β-carotene and xanthophylls. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant material The plant material consisted of four pepper cultivars, two sweet: ‘King Arthur’ and‘Red Knight’, and two hot: ‘Capel Hot’ and ‘Robustini’. The peppers were purchased from a market garden near Lublin in Poland. Fruits in full ripe

FAQs

Which processing conditions were compared for pepper extracts?

Evaporation was conducted under two sets of temperature and pressure: 35°C/70 mbar and 50°C/400 mbar, after lyophilization.

How did processing conditions affect vitamin and antioxidant levels?

Extracts prepared under the milder condition (35°C/70 mbar) had significantly higher concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin E, β-carotene, total phenols, and antioxidant properties than extracts obtained at higher temperature and pressure.

How do hot and sweet pepper cultivars differ in antioxidant composition?

Hot-fruit extracts were characterized by higher vitamin E and β-carotene, whereas sweet varieties showed higher antioxidant properties and phenolic compounds compared with hot peppers.

Aug 26, 2026

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