INFLUENCE OF STORAGE-CONDITIONS ON PIGMENT DEGRADATION IN PAPRIKAS FROM DIFFERENT GREENHOUSE PEPPER CULTIVARS

A comparative study was made of the pigments and kinetics of pigment d egradation in paprika from Ocal, Datler, Belrubi and L T Datler variet ies of pepper cultivated in greenhouse conditions during storage in da rkness and at different temperatures and degrees of humidity. Differen ces were established after fitting the experiment data to a first- or second-order kinetic model. The pigment degradation rate constants and half-lives were obtained for each variety and each storage condition. As expected, the speed of pigment degradation increased for all the p aprika types at higher storage temperatures and decreased as relative humidity rose. The data obtained allowed the determination of the para meters involved in the respective Arrhenius equations which equate the pigment degradation rate constant (supposed first or second order) wi th absolute temperature in cases of zero humidity. Significant differe nces with respect to degradation rate and pigment content were found b etween the cultivars in most of the storage conditions assayed. (C) 19 98 Society of Chemical Industry.