Odor-contributing volatile compounds of a new Brazilian tabasco pepper cultivar analyzed by HS-SPME-GC-MS and HS-SPME-GC-O/FID

Deborah Dos Santos Garruti,Ídila Maria Da Silva Araújo,Rita De Cássia Alves Pereira,Hilton Cesar Rodrigues Magalhães,Wivian De Sousa Mesquita

doi:10.1590/fst.18020

Deborah Dos Santos Garruti, Ídila Maria Da Silva Araújo + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.18020

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Abstract

The cultivar BRS Avai was originated from recurrent phenotypic selection in the original American cultivar Tabasco Macllhenny™, used in the worldly famous Tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) sauce. The determination of the aroma profile of this new cultivar could reveal important qualitative descriptors that will help in future crosses and in the improvement of the desirable characteristics. Headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-olfactometry techniques were used to analyze the volatile compounds from a new Brazilian cultivar, estimating the most powerful odor-active compounds. In the volatile fraction of BRS Avai pepper, esters were the predominant chemical class and major compounds were isohexyl and hexyl esters. Thirty-five odorants were detected and sixteen were considered as having moderate to high intensity, with hexyl 2-methylbutanoate, α-pinene, hexyl butanoate and hexyl 3-methylbutanoate contributing the most to the typical sweet, herbal and pepper-like aroma of this cultivar.

Highlights

Peppers from the genus Capsicum are among the most consumed spices in the world, presenting a rich variation in size, color, flavor and pungency
Capsicum frutescens is one of the most used species in cooking, especially the varieties malagueta and tabasco, which are native to tropical regions of America (Carvalho et al, 2017)
The productivity at the tested sites and the technological characteristics were superior to the Tabasco Macllhenny cultivar, showing that the selected genotype is adapted to the growing regions, but to obtain varieties of higher commercial interest, the breeding program must advance, seeking more productive and resistant genotypes, taking into account the flavor they impart to foods

Summary

Introduction

Peppers from the genus Capsicum are among the most consumed spices in the world, presenting a rich variation in size, color, flavor and pungency They are valued for their richness in bioactive compounds such as vitamins, polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids and other secondary metabolites with antioxidant properties (Di Cagno et al, 2009; Hamed et al, 2019). The result was the cultivar BRS Avai, originated from recurrent phenotypic selection in the original American population (Pereira et al, 2014). According to these authors, the fruit has an elongated shape, red color, average length of 3 cm, capsaicin content around 27,000 Scovilles and 24% fruit pulp. The productivity at the tested sites and the technological characteristics were superior to the Tabasco Macllhenny cultivar, showing that the selected genotype is adapted to the growing regions, but to obtain varieties of higher commercial interest, the breeding program must advance, seeking more productive and resistant genotypes, taking into account the flavor they impart to foods

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