Assessment of carotenoids, capsaicinoids and ascorbic acid composition of some selected pepper cultivars (Capsicum annuum L.) grown in Turkey

Carotenoid, capsaicinoid and ascorbic acid composition of ripe fruits of five Capsicum annuum cultivars (730 F1, 1245 F1, Amazon F1, Serademre 8 and Kusak 295F1), grown as principle breeding material in Turkey, were quantitatively investigated by means of HPLC technique. Seven main carotenoids, five analogues of capsaicinoids and ascorbic acid were quantified in the fruits grown for 2 year replication. From the capsaicinoids and carotenoids data, Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) and retinol activity equivalent (RAE) values of the fruits were also calculated, respectively. The findings determined that the cultivars of 730 F1 and 1245 F1 had higher carotenoids (2310–2390 mg/kg in dry basis), capsaicinoids (471.3–688.1 mg/kg in dry basis), vitamin A (218.8–243.0 μg RAE/100 g in wet basis) and vitamin C (63.1–64.9 mg/100 g in wet basis) content, without any significant difference among each of them. Furthermore, the cultivars which had higher capsaicinoids contents had higher ascorbic acids content as well. With their high nutritional and functional components, the cultivar of 730 F1 and 1245 F1 can be considered to be selected breeding material for cultivar development.