Anais do Simpósio Latino Americano de Ciências de Alimentos
Actas del 14 SLACA - Simposio Latinoamericano de Ciencia de los Alimentos

Capsicum chinense, which belongs to the Solanaceae family and is also known as biquinho pepper, is the most produced and consumed domesticated pepper in Brazil. Its fruits are appreciated due to their color, flavor, and aroma. Additionally, this pepper is recognized due to its antioxidant potential that is related to the presence of bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds like flavonoids, capsaicinoids, and carotenoids. In this context, this study aimed to identify bioactive compounds present in biquinho pepper by UHPLC-ESI-MS analyses. The proposed identification of the compounds was based on the m/z of their precursor ion and MS/MS fragmentation patterns (product ion) in comparison to data from the literature. In the analytical conditions applied, biquinho pepper extract showed the presence of fifteen compounds, representing the classes of phenolic compounds and carotenoids. They were: nordihydrocapsaicin (m/z 294), nornorcapsiate (m/z 301), capsaicin (m/z 306), dihydrocapsaicin (m/z 308), nordihydrocapsiate (m/z 317), homocapsaicin-I (m/z 320), β-carotene (m/z 537), phytofluene (m/z 543), phytoene (m/z 545), lutein (m/z 551), zeaxanthin (m/z 569), antheraxanthin (m/z 585), cryptoxanthin (m/z 735), capsanthin (m/z 767), and capsorubin (m/z 811). Carotenoids and phenolic compounds, such as the ones identified herein, are considered to be essential to the maintenance of human health, which is mainly due to their antioxidant properties. Thus, due to the great combination of health-promoting potential, sensory attributes, and antioxidant properties, biquinho pepper may be highlighted as a prominent functional food additive, providing extra nutritional value to food products and representing an alternative to the substitution of the synthetic antioxidants.