Iqbal Qumer, Amjad Muhammad, Asi Muhammad Rafique, Ariño Agustin, Ziaf Khurram, Nawaz Aamir, Ahmad Tanveer
Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
Foods. 2015 Mar 31;4(2):51-64. doi: 10.3390/foods4020051.
The maintenance of the quality and storage life of perishable fruits and vegetables is a major challenge for the food industry. In this study, the effects of different temperatures, packaging materials and storage time on the stability of capsaicinoids and antioxidants, such as total carotenoids, ascorbic acid and total phenolic compounds, were studied in three commercially cultivated hot pepper hybrids, namely Sky Red, Maha and Wonder King. For this purpose, dry whole pods were packed in jute bags and low-density polyethylene bags (LDPE), stored for five months under controlled conditions at 20, 25 or 30 C and analyzed on Day 0 and at 50-day intervals until Day 150. The three hot pepper hybrids differed significantly with respect to their capsaicinoids and antioxidant concentrations, but the results indicated that with the increase in storage temperature and time, a gradual and steady decrease in these levels was equally observed for all hybrids. Overall, mean concentrations after five months were significantly reduced by 22.6% for ascorbic acid, 19.0% for phenolic compounds, 17% for carotenoids and 12.7% for capsaicinoids. The trends of capsaicinoids and antioxidants evolution were decreasing gradually during storage until Day 150, this effect being more pronounced at higher temperature. Furthermore, the disappearance rates of capsaicinoids and antioxidants were higher in peppers packed in jute bags than in those wrapped with LDPE. In conclusion, despite the sensitivity of capsaicinoids and antioxidants to oxygen, light and moisture, the packaging in natural jute or synthetic LDPE plastic bags, as well as the storage at ambient temperature preserved between 77.4% and 87.3% of the initial amounts of these health- and nutrition-promoting compounds during five months' storage.
易腐水果和蔬菜的质量维持及储存期限是食品行业面临的一项重大挑战。在本研究中，针对三种商业种植的辣椒杂交品种，即天空红、玛哈和神奇之王，研究了不同温度、包装材料及储存时间对辣椒素类物质和抗氧化剂（如总类胡萝卜素、抗坏血酸和总酚类化合物）稳定性的影响。为此，将干辣椒全荚装入黄麻袋和低密度聚乙烯袋（LDPE）中，在20、25或30℃的可控条件下储存五个月，并在第0天以及每隔50天直至第150天进行分析。这三种辣椒杂交品种在辣椒素类物质和抗氧化剂浓度方面存在显著差异，但结果表明，随着储存温度和时间的增加，所有杂交品种的这些物质含量均呈现逐渐且稳定的下降。总体而言，五个月后的平均浓度，抗坏血酸显著降低了22.6%，酚类化合物降低了19.0%，类胡萝卜素降低了17%，辣椒素类物质降低了12.7%。在储存至第150天期间，辣椒素类物质和抗氧化剂的演变趋势逐渐下降，这种影响在较高温度下更为明显。此外，装入黄麻袋的辣椒中辣椒素类物质和抗氧化剂的消失速率高于用LDPE包装的辣椒。总之，尽管辣椒素类物质和抗氧化剂对氧气、光线和水分敏感，但在五个月的储存期内，用天然黄麻或合成LDPE塑料袋包装以及在环境温度下储存，可保留这些促进健康和营养的化合物初始含量的77.4%至87.3%。
