Influence of organic and mineral-based conventional fertilization practices on nutrient levels, anti-proliferative activities and quality of sweet red peppers following cold storage

Abstract

The demand for organic food products has increased over the last decades; however, the health effects of organically grown products are controversial and knowledge about how different fertilization regimes affect nutritionally and health relevant components is still limited. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of organic and conventional mineral-based fertilizers on the quality of sweet red peppers. The parameters tested were anti-proliferative activity against cancer cells and the concentrations of antioxidants, flavonoids, phenolics, and vitamin C. The decay incidence, percentage of weight loss, and total soluble solids (TSS) content were also evaluated. The different parameters were tested in fresh peppers immediately after harvest and after cold storage. Our results show that the anti-proliferative activity of pepper extracts against colon cancer cells is similar in fresh organically and conventionally fertilized sweet red peppers. While in conventionally fertilized peppers the extent of the anti-proliferative activity was not affected by long storage, stored organic peppers lost 50% of their inhibitory activity. We also found that the levels of antioxidants, polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamin C, as well as the general quality of the peppers were not significantly affected by the different fertilization practices nor by long storage.

Anti‐proliferative activities, phytochemical levels and fruit quality of pepper (Capsicum spp.) following prolonged storage

“…In recent work, we reported that the contents of vitamin C, hydrophilic antioxidants and total phenolics in sweet bell pepper were not significantly affected by storage (Elmann et al, 2016;Lama et al, 2016). Our current results suggest that prolonged storage has an accession-specific effect on the content of the health-promoting phytonutrients in chilli peppers.…”

“…In a previous work, we have determined the levels of similar phytochemicals in sweet red peppers (Elmann et al, 2016). Comparing the data, accession 1745 had eightfold higher levels of flavonoids, and higher antioxidant capacity relative to sweet red peppers.…”

How Water Quality and Quantity Affect Pepper Yield and Postharvest Quality

“…Phytonutrients such as vitamin C or AOX capacity are increasingly important aspects of fruit quality because they are associated with benefits to consumer's health [29], and pepper is considered as one of the healthier fruits [30]. Antioxidant synthesis and accumulation in plants is generally stimulated by biotic or abiotic stress such as salinity; they can protect plant organs from serious oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids [22].…”

Efecto de abonos orgánicos sobre el rendimiento, valor nutritivo y capacidad antioxidante de tomate verde (Physalis ixocarpa

“…La importancia del conocimiento de los antioxidantes se debe a que, además de que afecta la vida útil de los frutos y vegetales, estos son capaces de proteger a las células contra los radicales libres causantes de enfermedades crónico-degenerativas, entre ellas el cáncer (Elmann, Garra, Alkalai-Tuvia & Fallik, 2016), y su consumo podría ejercer un impacto benéfico sobre la salud de los humanos.…”