Antioxidants in Capsicum chinense: variation among countries of origin.

The main objective of this investigation was to evaluate fruits of C. chinense accessions for their concentration of beta -carotene, ascorbic acid, and phenols for use as parents in breeding for these phytochemicals. Mature fruits of 63 accessions of C. chinense originally acquired from Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and the United States were analyzed for their chemical composition. Fruits of C. chinense accessions PI-152452 (Brazil) and PI-360726 (Ecuador) contained the greatest concentrations of ascorbic acid (1.2 and 1.1 mg g(-1) fresh fruit, respectively), while PI-438648 (Mexico) contained the greatest concentration of total phenols content (349 micro g g(-1) fresh fruit) among the other 63 accessions tested. Accession PI-355817 from Ecuador contained the greatest concentrations of beta -carotene (8 mg g(-1)fresh fruit). These accessions were identified as potential candidates for mass production of antioxidants with health-promoting properties.