Abstract
The fruits of Capsicum owe their intense red color to carotenoid pigments that are synthetized massively during fruit ripening. In the industry, carotenoids from paprika are used as natural colorants. All the carotenoid pigments present in the pepper are isoprenoids containing nine conjugated double bonds in the central polyenic chain, although with different end groups, allowing them to be classified in two isochromic families: red (R) and yellow (Y). Since the commercial value of paprika is determined by the intensity of its red coloration, the selection of cultivars must not only increase the total carotenoid content, but also increase, if possible, the R/Y ratio. Chlorophyll pigments decrease and disappear from the red cultivars during ripening. In contrast in the stay-green cultivars, with the recessive gene cl (chloro-phyll retainer) a chocolate brown color of the ripe fruits results from lack of chloro-phyll degradation and the simultaneous accumulation of red pigments. In the present work, the local cultivar 'Bola' and six cultivars of paprika selected by IMIDA Horticulture Department, the wild-type red cultivars 'Costal', 'Datler' and 'Rodacol' and the stay-green cultivars 'Negral', 'Datler Negro' and 'Nedacol', have been characterized by their carotenoid pigment content, the R/Y ratio and °ASTA value, with the following results: except for the red cultivar 'Costal' with 7917.51 mg/kg carotenoid content, the highest total carotenoid content were the stay-green cultivars 'Datler Negro' with 6358.59 mg/kg, and 'Negral' and 'Nedacol' with 6236.61 and 5984.09 mg/kg respectively.
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