Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of fruit extracts from different fresh chili peppers.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study was to assess the antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of ethanol extracts obtained from the fruit of five species of fresh chili pepper, Capsicum (C.) baccatum L. (Aji Amarillo), C. chinense (Fidalgo Roxa), C. annuum (Cherry Chocolate), C. pubescens (Rocoto Orange) and C. frutescens (Peruvian Purple). METHODS: To obtain the ethanol extracts, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) was applied. DPPH assay was used to determine the antioxidant activity of the extract samples. The disc diffusion method was used to measure antimicrobial activity against nine investigated microorganism species. RESULTS: The tested extract samples exhibited DPPH radical scavenging activities ranging from 0.24 ±0.01 (Peruvian Purple) to 0.72 ±0.02 (Aji Amarillo) mg TEAC∙g–1 dw. The differences between all the varieties were statistically significant (P < 0.05; except for the Cherry Chocolate and Rocoto Orange), and the potential of antioxidant capacity increased in the following manner: Peruvian Purple < Fidalgo Roxa < Rocoto Orange < Cherry Chocolate < Aji Amarillo. The results from the antimicrobial evaluation showed that the Capsicum extracts had no uniform inhibition activity against tested gram-negative, gram-positive bacteria, and yeast. Specifically, Aji Amarillo fruit extract revealed the strongest antimicrobial activity against S. pneumoniae (6.33 ±0.58 mm), followed by Cherry Chocolate against S. pneumoniae (5.33 ±0.58 mm), Rocoto Orange against S. enterica (5.27 ±0.58 mm), Fidalgo Roxa against C. albicans (4.67 ±0.58 mm), and Peruvian Purple against S. pneumoniae (4.57 ±0.58 mm). CONCLUSIONS: Considering these results, Capsicum spp. can be used as a source of novel antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds.

Antioxidant Activities and Volatile Flavor Components of Selected Single-Origin and Blend Chocolates.

The biological activity of chocolates gains more and more attention of consumers. Its antioxidant properties depend, among other factors, mainly on the origin of cocoa and the characteristics that this origin gives to the final product. Therefore, the aim of the study was to measure and compare the total content of polyphenols, antioxidant activity, and key odorants of commercial chocolates made from blend cocoa with single-origin ones. The highest content of polyphenols was found in 90% blend cocoa chocolate and single-origin samples, while the lowest content was exhibited by 100% chocolate from blend cocoa mass. The highest antioxidant activity measured by 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays was observed in the sample of chocolate with 90% cocoa solids from blend mass, followed by single-origin chocolates. A high positive correlation between ABTS assay and the total polyphenol and phenolic acids' content, as well as among the total content of polyphenols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids was found. Mineral composition analysis showed that dark chocolate is a valuable source of some elements, especially Mg, Fe, and Zn. Potentially toxic elements were not detected or below permitted limits. Moreover, it was noticed that the main volatile compound in all tested samples was acetic acid, but pyrazines were considered the most important group of chocolate odorants.