Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of 63 Balkan pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) accessions

Abstract

In our study, we used the rich biodiversity of peppers in the Balkan region and characterized 63 pepper accessions from five cultivar types (Pungent; Sweet; Pumpkin; Kapia; For powder), in view of their phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity. The obtained results showed high variation in the compositional profiles between studied cultivar groups, as well within individual groups. Based on fresh weight (FW), the most abundant sugar in the studied accessions was glucose (0.36-3.79%), followed by fructose (0.16-2.98%). The accessions from "For powder" group were the richest source of uronic acids-0.77%, followed by accessions from "Pungent" group-0.64%. In four of the five groups, citric acid was the predominant organic acid, whereas only in the "Sweet" group, malic acid was the major representative of organic acid. The highest amount of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) was found in a genotype CAPS-7, which is in the group of "Pungent" accessions. The polyphenol content varied in a broad range from 42 mg/100 g FW to 266 mg/100 g FW. The differences in the flavonoid content were even more significant reaching 60-fold difference-from 1.0 mg/100 g FW to 64.3 mg/100 g FW. The accessions from the "For powder" group were leaders in regards to their total polyphenol and total flavonoid contents, as well as for their antioxidant activity, measured by ORAC and HORAC assays. This variation in fruit composition might be manipulated via plant breeding to create new pepper varieties with improved nutritional value of their fruits.

A step towards Balkan Capsicum annuum L. core collection: Phenotypic and biochemical characterization of 180 accessions for agronomic, fruit quality, and virus resistance traits

“…Within-group fruit quality was higher in Kapia, Pumpkin type, and Paprika than Pungent and Sweet green types. However, this was due to the fact that fruits analyzed from the latter two groups were harvested before maturity, thus accumulation of TSS, Vit C, TP, and FRAP might have been lower than those harvested at maturity [37].…”

“…Besides fruit form, the growth habit is also an important determinant in the adaptation and cultivation in different environment, particularly of compact or erect peppers [50]. There has not been a major study that measures pepper diversity across all pepper-producing Balkan regions, other than a handful of small studies investigating agronomical, genetic, and biochemical diversity [9,26,37,59].…”

“…The Balkans have a rich tradition of growing endemic types of peppers that do not seem to be found in other parts of the world [34][35], and appear to be a "secondary region for pepper diversity" [36]. Several studies in the past have investigated Balkan pepper diversity and noticed appreciable diversity for fruit compositional [37], and morpho-colorimetric descriptors [38]. However, no study has yet been published that demonstrates comprehensive morphological characterization of a large pepper collection.…”

Linking abiotic stress, plant metabolites, biostimulants and functional food

“…The treatment of Capsicum fruits with Actium® increased phenylalanine and total monosaccharides compared to controls (Barrajón‐Catalán et al, 2019). Due to their health benefits, polyphenols are particularly desired components, especially in vegetables like peppers that are consumed in big amounts worldwide, whereas many factors could influence the accumulation of polyphenols in plants, such as genotype, light, temperature and so on (Denev et al, 2019).…”

Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of the Greek Pepper (<i>Capsicum annuum</i>) Cultivars ‘Florinis’ and ‘Karatzova’

“…The fact that 'Florinis' cultivar was characterized by high values in more than one biochemical trait was not a surprise as a similar phenomenon has been observed to Balkan culti-vars [Nankar et al, 2020]. Although there are several records on the biochemical traits or properties of various pepper cultivars of the Balkan region [Denev et al, 2019;Nankar et al, 2020], there is a limited number of studies about Greek peppers with emphasis on 'Florinis' cultivar [Niklis et al, 2002;Papathanasiou et al, 2020]. The high total phenolic content of 'Florinis' and 'Florinis'-type peppers was expected, as in full maturity the sweet peppers contain high amount of phenolic compounds [Papathanasiou et al, 2020].…”