The use of fishponds as a storage container for fresh ground chilies has
been carried out. Changes in metabolites in ground chili were observed
during storage in fishponds and compared with refrigerator. This study
was done to determine whether the preservation mechanism in fishponds
and refrigerators is the same. Fresh chili samples were stored in plastic
containers and then placed in fishponds and refrigerators. The temperature
of fishpond storage was at ± 26ºC while that of refrigerator was at ± 8ºC.
Total microbes, sugars, capsaicinoids, and amino acids in the stored ground
chilies were analyzed. The analysis was performed periodically at 0, 1, 2,
and 4 weeks. It was known that the quality of ground chili that was stored
for one month in a fishpond and ground chili were the same. In addition,
the profile of changes in total microbial growth, sugar, and capsaicinoids
in ground chilies during storage had the same pattern between storage
in fishponds and refrigerators. Meanwhile, the amino acid profile looks
different between fishponds and refrigerators. From this research, it can
be concluded that preserving ground chilies stored in fishponds also seem
to inhibit enzymatic activity, but without decreasing the metabolic activity
due to the temperature. This finding needs further clarification to develop
conservation techniques using this environmentally friendly fishpond.