M. Carvajal et al., Antioxidant content and colour level in different varieties of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) affected by plant-leaf Ti4+ spray and processing, ACT ALIMENT, 27(4), 1998, pp. 365-375
Seasoning paprika is, economically, one of the most important vegetable spi
ces and some of the factors that most likely determine its quality may be r
ed colour and antioxidation capacity. This study was carried out to evaluat
e the varietal influence on the colour levers and on the most effective bio
logical bioantioxidants: ascorbic acid and a-tocopherol. The variations ind
uced during the drying and grinding operations were also determined and the
effect of a biological activity inductor (Ti4+-ascorbate) on the compositi
on of these quality parameters in both the fresh and the dried fruit perica
rp was analysed. An important decrease of all the parameters studied was ob
served during processing, especially on the ascorbic acid content (about 75
%), red colour (14-58%), and on the level of cr-tocopherol (25-30%). Red co
lour retention in paprika was strongly related to the total bioantioxidant
diminution. All the compounds studied were increased when two leaf Ti4+ tre
atments were applied to plants during the crop cycle, but there was some im
portant varietal differences in the intensity of the response.