Study of variation on levels of capsaicinoids, capsinoids, carotenoids total phenolic and antioxidant capacity of Capsicum chinense pepper in differents maturity stages and harvest season

Abstract

In Brazil, are large the exports of pepper, which is one of the most exported vegetables in the country, representing 13.5% of total exports of this type of product, placing it second in terms of export revenues in amounts of vegetables. The consumption of fresh pepper is still relatively small, its major use is in the food industry, where it is used as coloring and flavoring in sauces, soups, processed meats, snacks, sweets and some alcoholic beverages. The capsaicin and the carotenoids are the two main groups of substances in the hot peppers, responsible for such properties. From the functional point, these substances have antioxidant, antitumor, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic activity and others. Since the presence of these substances in peppers is affected by several factors such as rainfall, temperature, degree of ripeness of the fruit, planting location, among others, this work will be assessed the content of carotenoids, capsaicinoids, and biological activity in peppers Capsicum chinense in different degrees of maturation (immature and level of trade) and harvest periods (winter and summer). Will be used in the analysis of these two compounds the Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), an evolution of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), that is the result of the chromatographic columns used. The antioxidant activity will be evaluated by the methods of the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power), ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), and testing of anti-inflammatory and immune response will be led by biological tests in rats receiving these microencapsulated added pepper on your food. The difference between this work in part with respect to chromatography is a technique using "green" with less waste, lower cost of solvent runs faster and simultaneous separation of carotenoids and capsaicinoids (hitherto unpublished), and in relation biological assays to the proposal to show the benefits of pepper to the immune system through food is innovative because it will not be used extracts or pure compounds, but the pepper microencapsulated, will see if there is a direct influence of the food rather than drug or extract. (AU)