Chemical Properties, Phenolic Profiles and Antioxidant Activities of Pepper Fruits

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the phytochemical properties of different varieties of pepper fruits, to identify and quantify the phenolic profile of methanolic extracts of the aforementioned plants and to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the crude extracts of the plants under investigation in comparative study. Results revealed that ascorbic acid and total carotenoids contents of pepper fruits ranged between 83.30 to 194.44 (mg/g fw) and 12.19 to 75.72 (µg/g F.W), respectively. Balady green pepper extract contained the highest total polyphenols and total flavonoids contents as 52.65 (mg GAE/g) and 41.69 (mg QE/g), respectively. Hesperidin was the predominant flavonoid in red bell and Balady green peppers extracts with concentrations of 1513.13 and 1065.65 µg/g, respectively. While, pyrogallol was identified as the highest phenolic compound in yellow bell pepper extract as 2175.89 µg/g. This study also confirmed the highest antioxidant activity of Balady green pepper extract using total antioxidant capacity (TAC), DPPH radical scavenging and reducing power assays. This study recommends consumers using the balady green pepper as a rich and inexpensive source of natural antioxidants