ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY IN SWEET PEPPER (Capsicum annuum L.) VARIETIES

Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) has a high genetic variability and a great diversity of colors due to variation in pigments concentration, mainly carotenoids. The aim of this research was to study the content of biochemical components, physical characteristics and antioxidant capacity of 6 sweet peppers cultivars, and explore the relationship between the response variables, especially with the hue and color parameters, to determine which characteristics can be used for genotypes selection. The study was conducted at the Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Texcoco, Mexico. All cultivars showed high contents of vitamin C, between 274,3 and 355,5mg of ascorbic acid/100g, and Calif ornia cultivar with yellow fruit had an antioxidant capacity of 1281 mu mol eq Trolox/100g, while the red peppers Triple 4, Triple Star and Viper had lycopene contents of 5242, 2872 and 4831g/100g, respectively, and higher than other cultivars (p <= 0.05). Concentrations of anthocyanin were <1mg/100g and those of betalains <5mg/100g. The brightness and hue angle were correlated with the content of anthocyanins and lycopene, whereas purity of color (chroma) only correlated with lycopene content. Because of its high vitamin C and lycopene content and its antioxidant capacity, the studied cultivars can be recommended as rich phytonutrients fruits and considered as functional food. In addition to this characteristic, the studied variables can be used for genotype selection.