PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS, CAROTENOIDS AND CAPSAICINOIDS IN FRUITS OF SPECIES OF Capsicum spp. FROM TABASCO, MEXICO

Abstract

Wild chili peppers (Capsicum spp.) in Tabasco, Mexico, are a part of the culinary culture, although little is known about their nutritional composition and secondary metabolites. Given that these peppers are an important source of secondary metabolites, which can vary with the species, their stage of maturity and fruit components, the aim of this experiment was to determine the content of total carotenoids (CAT), total polyphenols (PFT), total flavonoids (FLT), capsaicin (CAP) and dihydrocapsaicin (DHC) in immature and mature fruits of wild species of amashito pepper (AMAS) (C. annuum var. glabriusculum), garbanzo pepper (GARB) (Capsicum sp.), pico paloma pepper (PICP) (C. frutescens) and a commercial species of habanero pepper (HABA) (C. chinense) grown in the state of Tabasco. The experimental design was completely randomized, with a factorial arrangement with three replications, considering the species and the stage of maturity. The mature peppers displayed the highest content of CAT, and the pericarp of mature HABA (52.23 mg g^–1), the complete PICP fruit (46.16 mg g^–1) and the pericarp of GARB (34.89 mg g^–1) stood out. The lowest content of CAT was displayed by AMAS in all the components of the fruit. Fruit maturity did not affect PFT and the pericarps displayed the highest contents (14.19 mg g^–1, AMAS, at 19.17 mg g^–1, HABA). The intervals of variation between components and the stage of maturity for FLT were 16.29-29.11 mg g^–1 (HABA), 11.92-28.17 mg g^–1 (PICP), of 11.06-24.78 mg g^–1 (AMAS) and 1.7-26.36 mg g^–1 (GARB). In whole fruits, HABA presented more capsaicinoids in mature fruits (21.51 and 12.18 mg g^–1, CAP and DHC, respectively) and immature (20.43 and 11.03 mg g^–1, CAP and DHC). CAP and DHC in immature AMAS fruits had 6.04 and 3.73 mg g^–1, and in mature fruits, 6.86 and 3.80 mg g^–1. The variation in secondary metabolites between the wild chili peppers evaluated shows their potential as a source of bioactive compounds.