Influence of genetic and environmental factors on the contents of carotenoids and phenolic acids in red pepper fruits (Capsicum annuum L.)

Abstract

Red pepper is enriched in antioxidant components, such as carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and vitamins. In this study, we investigated the natural variability in the content of carotenoids and phenolic acids in 11 red pepper cultivars grown in two locations in South Korea during 2016, 2017, and 2018. Seven carotenoids and six phenolic acids, including soluble and insoluble forms, were detected in the red fruit pericarps. The major carotenoids were β-carotene (40%) and capsanthin (20%). The content of insoluble phenolic acids was higher than that of soluble phenolic acids because of the large amount of insoluble p-coumaric acid. The statistical analysis of combined data showed significant differences among varieties, locations, and years for most of the measured components. The results from variance component analysis indicated that the effects of location, year and the interaction of location and year mainly accounted for the variation in carotenoids, whereas variations in phenolic acid content were attributed to year and variety. In addition, the results of principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant showed that carotenoids were well discriminated by location and year, whereas phenolic acids were distinctively separated only by year. The data from this study could explain the natural variation in the content of carotenoids and phenolic acids in red pepper fruits by genotype and environment.

Widely Targeted Metabolomics Reveals Metabolite Diversity in Jalapeño and Serrano Chile Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.)

“…Though crop metabolite profiling is an important area of nutritional and health research, this information can also be used for the classification of peppers. Principal components and partial least discriminant analyses are relevant for the classification of metabolomic datasets based on different factors such as variety, location, and their interactions [ 32 ]. In the current study, the jalapeño and serrano type chile peppers were differentiated based on their metabolite profiles.…”

“…Metabolomics can render insights into the different metabolites which can be targeted further for breeding and selection using different genomics tools such as metabolite-quantitative trait loci (mQTL) analyses, metabolite-based genome-wide association studies (mGWAS), and metabolite-genome predictions [ 50 ]. Variation in the phenolic acid content in chile peppers is affected by the varietal type, location, and growing season, and, hence, can impose challenges on performing breeding and selection [ 32 ]. Given the complex nature of these phenotypes, caution must be observed when performing the collection of fruit samples for metabolomics analyses to minimize the errors and variation due to sampling.…”

In vitro Evaluation of Anti-Inflammatory Activity of “Habanero” Chili Pepper (Capsicum chinense) Seeds Extracts Pretreated with Cellulase

“…The most abundant phenolic compound found in the extracts was vanillic acid (7.97-12.66 µg/mg), but no signi cant effects of time or temperature of extraction were observed (Table 1). Kim et al after analyzed the methanolic extracts of 11 chili pepper varieties found out that the main phenolic compounds in the extracts from the fruits were p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, p-coumaric, ferulic and sinapic acids [14]. Similarly, Dos Anjos et al found that on Brazilian chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens) pericarp one of the main phenolic compounds was vanillic acid (1.9 µg/mg) [15].…”

Piquin chili, a wild spice: natural variation in nutraceutical contents

“…For the chili peppers, carotenoids contribute to the coloration of the mature states, which is evident as the chlorophyll degrades ( 48 , 49 ). In this regard, it is worth highlighting the marked influence of environmental conditions and the genetics of chili peppers regarding the accumulation of carotenoids, which have been regularly identified in various chili genotypes, where specific accumulation patterns have been observed ( 50 – 52 ). As an example, in the piquin chili, the carotenoid content has been reported as contrasting between the immature (green fruit) and mature states (red fruit), in addition to being undetectable in the first state and reaching considerable levels when ripe ( 33 ).…”

“…Two ecotypes of piquin chili from Tabasco State (southeastern Mexico) showed significant differences between carotenoid contents in ripe and unripe fruits. Mature fruits show higher carotenoid content and are subjected to various levels of shading, reaching up to 28.80 mg g −1 of DW in the dry season, in an open sky system for the Garbanzo genotype and 23.71 mg g −1 of DW in the rainy season, in an open sky system for the Amashito genotype ( 50 ). The same research shows a difference in carotenoid levels in mature chili peppers, and these differ according to the shading conditions, with higher levels when the plants are exposed to natural light in the open field system and lower levels when shade conditions are increased.…”