COMPETITION BETWEEN THE PROCESSES OF BIOSYNTHESIS AND DEGRADATION OF CAROTENOIDS DURING THE DRYING OF PEPPERS

The changes in the levels of carotenoid pigments during the drying of peppers of the var. Bola for paprika demonstrate that in these fruits there is a period of carotenogenesis after harvesting. The pathway fol lowed seems to be the same as that which occurs during the ripening of peppers. This biosynthetic period is strongly favored by light, while in darkness, this process is not as fast. At the final stages of dryi ng, the biosynthetic process is interrupted and until the complete deh ydration of the fruit, depending on the external factors, degradation can be enhanced or minimized. Combining, during the drying process, a first step of illumination with a second step of darkness, it is possi ble to get dry peppers for paprika with some 20-40% increase in pigmen t concentration.