Ripening-dependent Changes in Phytonutrients and Antioxidant Activity of Red Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Fruits Cultivated under Open-field Conditions

Abstract

<jats:p>To understand ripening-dependent changes in phytonutrients, five commercial cultivars of red peppers (<jats:italic>Capsicum annuum</jats:italic> L.) grown in an open field in Taean, South Korea, were selected and their fruits were harvested at green mature (GM), intermediate breaker (BR), and red ripe (RR) stages and their phytonutrient contents and antioxidant activities were compared. Three major patterns in relation to ripening progress were observed. First, continuous increases were observed in vitamin C, total phenol, vitamin E (especially α-tocopherol), total free sugar, β-carotene, linolenic acid content, and antioxidant activity. Second, decreasing patterns were observed in phytosterols (campesterol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol) and linoleic acid. Third, total flavonoid and squalene contents were relatively higher at the BR stage compared with the GM and RR stages. These results indicate that each phytonutrient has a unique pattern of accumulation and degradation during the fruit-maturing process. Unlike the mentioned phytonutrients, which showed similar patterns in all tested cultivars, capsaicinoids exhibited quite different patterns of ripening-dependent changes among the cultivars. Throughout the ripening processes, positive correlations with antioxidant activity were observed in vitamin E (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = 0.814**), β-carotene (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = 0.772*), vitamin C (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = 0.610**), and total phenol (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = 0.595**) contents, whereas capsaicinoids, total flavonoid, and phytosterols exhibited no or slightly negative correlations. In conclusion, the ripening of red pepper fruits is accompanied by continuous increments in various phytonutrients and subsequent antioxidant activity.</jats:p>

Variation in flavonoids in a collection of peppers (Capsicum sp.) under organic and conventional cultivation: effect of the genotype, ripening stage, and growing system

“…To a lesser extent, the year effect also contributed significantly to the variation in total flavonoids and most individual flavonoids (except for myricetin), which confirms the importance of a multi‐year design to decrease the environmental effect related to agroclimatic conditions from year to year, especially in open fields . The ripening stage (R) also contributed significantly in all flavonoids, particularly in myricetin (Table ), indicating changes in the content of phenolics due to the ripening process . By contrast, the general effect of the growing system (E) was not significant, although significant G × E interaction was found for variation in total flavonoids ( P < 0.05) and luteolin ( P < 0.01), suggesting a different behavior of the accessions depending on the growing system.…”

“…37 The ripening stage (R) also contributed significantly in all flavonoids, particularly in myricetin (Table 2), indicating changes in the content of phenolics due to the ripening process. 38 By contrast, the general effect of the growing system (E) was not significant, although significant G × E interaction was found for variation in total flavonoids (P < 0.05) and luteolin (P < 0.01), suggesting a different behavior of the accessions depending on the growing system. Also, G × R interaction was significant for total and individual flavonoids.…”

Nutritional content and antioxidant properties of edible indigenous wild fruits from miombo woodlands in Tanzania

“…Similary X. caffra and S. cocculoides have higher amounts of phenolic contents compared to domesticated fruits that are commonly used by communities such as mango and banana (440.6 and 362.4 mg GAE/100 g respectively) as reported by Singh et al, (2016) and papaya (272.99 to 339.91 mg GAE/100g) reported by Maisarah et al (2013). Phenolics are important group of bioactive compounds in plant materials that have antioxidant properties for human health (Bhandari et al, 2013). The findings of this study indicate that indigenous fruits are superior in total phenolic contents compared to domesticated fruits and they should be regarded as an important source of natural antioxidant in the human diet.…”

A comparison of the nutrient composition and statistical profile in red pepper fruits (Capsicums annuum L.) based on genetic and environmental factors

“…Jarret et al [5] showed the great diversity of free sugars within the C. chinense gene pool. Further, free sugar quantity was affected by pepper cultivars, fruit maturation, cultivation region, and year in Korea [10,16,38]. The contents of fructose and glucose across varieties were higher in peppers produced from IS than those of YY and both compounds significantly varied by year ( Table 5).…”

“…Even within the same variety, nutritional composition of peppers varies depending on developmental stages, growing regions, and agricultural practices [10][11][12][13][14]. Pérez-López et al [14] showed that levels of ascorbic acid, total carotenoid, phenolic, and mineral were affected by the fruit maturation and types of agricultural practice.…”