USE OF HPLC AND MULTIVARIATE METHODS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE STABILITY OF COLOR PIGMENTS OF PAPRIKA (CAPSICUM-ANNUUM) POWDER

The effect of storage conditions and the addition of seeds on the stab ility of the colour pigments of paprika (Capsicum annuum) was studied. Pigments were separated by reversed-phase high performance liquid chr omatography, and the influence of the storage conditions on the rate a nd selectivity of the decomposition was assessed by spectral mapping t echnique followed by two-dimensional nonlinear mapping and stepwise re gression analysis. It was established that the length of storage exert s the highest impact on the decomposition rate whereas the selectivity of decomposition depends on both the concentration of the added seeds and on the length of storage. The lipophilicity of pigments did not i nfluence their decomposition rate. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.