ABSTRACT

Capsicum chinense Jacq. and C. baccatum var. pendulum fruits are widely used in the food and processed food industry, in Peru, but their seeds and placentas are discarded as residues. This study aimed to quantify the proportion of edible (pericarp) and non-edible (seeds, placenta and interlocular septa) parts of the fruits, in market condition (semi-dried fruits of C. chinense and fresh fruits of C. baccatum), as well as to quantify the capsaicinoids and their pungency, in extracts of each fruit part previously dried. The pericarp represents 63 % and 85 % of the fruit, respectively for C. chinense and C. baccatum. The placenta stands for ~10 % of the fruit in both species, whereas, for the seeds, the index is 23 % in C. chinense and 5 % in C. baccatum. The content of capsaicinoids and pungency vary among the fruit parts and the species. High contents of capsaicinoids and pungency are found in non-edible parts of the fruit, mainly in the placenta (79 % in C. chinense and 51 % in C. baccatum). Regardless of the fruit part and species, the capsaicin was the major component of capsaicinoids (4,399 ug g^-1 and 1,582 ug g^-1 of the dry weight in C. chinense and C. baccatum, respectively), while dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin reached a lower content. C. chinense contains more capsaicinoids and, thus, a much higher level of pungency than the C. baccatum fruits.

KEYWORDS:
Capsaicin; dihydrocapsaicin; pepper

RESUMO

Frutos de Capsicum chinense Jacq. e C. baccatum var. pendulum são amplamente utilizados na alimentação e na indústria de alimentos processados, no Peru, mas as sementes e placentas são descartadas. Objetivou-se quantificar a proporção de partes comestíveis (pericarpo) e não comestíveis (sementes, placenta e septos interloculares) dos frutos, em condições de mercado (frutos semissecos de pimenta C. chinense e frutos frescos de pimenta C. baccatum), bem como quantificar os capsaicinoides e sua pungência, em extrato de cada parte do fruto previamente seco. O pericarpo representa 63 % e 85 % do fruto, respectivamente para C. chinense e C. baccatum. A placenta responde por ~10 % do fruto em ambas as espécies, enquanto, para as sementes, o índice é de 23 % para C. chinense e de 5 % para C. baccatum. O conteúdo de capsaicinoides e a pungência variam entre as espécies e partes do fruto. Altos conteúdos de capsaicinoides e pungência são encontrados em partes não comestíveis do fruto, principalmente na placenta (79 % em C. chinense e 51 % em C. baccatum). Independentemente da parte do fruto e da espécie, a capsaicina foi o principal componente dos capsaicinoides (4.399 ug g^-1 e 1.582 ug g^-1 do peso seco em C. chinense e C. baccatum, respectivamente), enquanto a diidrocapsaicina e a nordi-idrocapsaicina atingiram menor concentração. C. chinense contém mais capsaicinoides e, portanto, nível muito mais alto de pungência que os frutos de C. baccatum.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:
Capsaicina; diidrocapsaicina; pimenta

INTRODUCTION

Chili belongs to the Capsicum (Solanaceae) genus. The term capsicum derives from the Greek word "kapso", which means "to bite", thus referring to the pungency of the fruit (Maga & Todd 1975MAGA, J. A.; TODD, P. H. Capsicum. Critical Reviews in Food Science & Nutrition, v. 6, n. 2, p. 177-199, 1975. ). The alkamide compound (bioactive agent) present in the fruits of all Capsicum species provides the organoleptic properties of pungency, being an intrinsic characteristic of this genus. Specifically, capsaicinoid compounds cause pungency. Among the capsaincinoid components, the most abundant, and responsible for approximately 90 % of the total pungency, are capsaicin (trans-8 methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and dihydrocapsaicin (8 methyl-N-vanillylnonanamide) (Li et al. 2009LI, F. et al. Preparative isolation and purification of capsaicinoids from Capsicum frutescens using high-speed counter-current chromatography. Separation and Purification Technology, v. 64, n. 3, p. 304-308, 2009., Sganzerla et al. 2014SGANZERLA, M. et al. Fast method for capsaicinoids analysis from Capsicum chinense fruits. Food Research International, v. 64, n. 10, p. 718-725, 2014.). Additionally, chili fruits contain other capsaicinoid components, such as nordihydrocapsaicin, norcapsaicin, homocapsaicin I, homodihydrocapsaicin I, homocapsaicin II, homodihydrocapsaicin II and nonivamide (Batchelor & Jones 2000BATCHELOR, J. D.; JONES, B. T. Determination of the Scoville heat value for hot sauces and chilies: an HPLC experiment. Journal of Chemical Education, v. 77, n. 2, p. 266-267, 2000., Barbero et al. 2008BARBERO, G. F. et al. Fast determination of capsaicinoids from peppers by high-performance liquid chromatography using a reversed phase monolithic column. Food Chemistry, v. 107, n. 3, p. 1276-1282, 2008.).

Capsaicinoids are synthesized and accumulated in the epidermal cell of the placenta, but they are also found in the pericarp, seeds and other vegetative structures, such as leaves and stem (Fattorusso & Taglialatela-Scafati 2008FATTORUSSO, E.; TAGLIALATELA-SCAFATI, O. Modern alkaloids: structure, isolation, synthesis and biology. Weinheim: Wiley-Verlag, 2008. , Barbero et al. 2014BARBERO, G. F. et al. Evolution of total and individual capsaicinoids in peppers during ripening of the Cayenne pepper plant (Capsicum annuum L.). Food Chemistry, v. 153, n. 1, p. 200-206, 2014.). The synthesis of capsaicinoids occurs in the early stages of fruit formation, between 20 and 50 days after the anthesis, and the amount of capsaicinoids increases with fruit maturation (Contreras-padilla & Yahia 1998CONTRERAS-PADILLA, M.; YAHIA, E. M. Changes in capsaicinoids during development, maturation, and senescence of Chile peppers and relation with peroxidase activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 46, n. 6, p. 2075-2079, 1998.). The biosynthesis of capsaicinoids depends on genotype, fruit maturity and environmental factors, such as solar radiation and water availability (Zewdie & Bosland 2000ZEWDIE, Y.; BOSLAND, P. W. Evaluation of genotype, environment, and genotype-by-environment interaction for capsaicinoids in Capsicum annuum L. Euphytica, v. 111, n. 3, p. 185-190, 2000., Topuz & Ozdemir 2007TOPUZ, A.; OZDEMIR, F. Assessment of carotenoids, capsaicinoids and ascorbic acid composition of some selected pepper cultivars (Capsicum annuum L.) grown in Turkey. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, v. 20, n. 7, p. 596-602, 2007., Gangadhar et al. 2012GANGADHAR, B. H. et al. Comparative study of color, pungency, and biochemical composition in chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) under different light-emitting diode treatments. HortScience, v. 47, n. 12, p. 1729-1735, 2012. , Rahman & Inden 2012RAHMAN, M. J.; INDEN, H. Effect of nutrient solution and temperature on capsaicin content and yield contributing characteristics in six sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars. Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment, v. 10, n. 1, p. 524-529, 2012.).

Capsaicinoids have several properties and applications, including the chemopreventive, anti-mutagenic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesics, body temperature regulator, fungicide, bactericide, nematicide and insecticide ones, as well as insect repellent (Jones et al. 1997JONES, N. L. et al. Studies on the antimicrobial mechanisms of capsaicin using yeast DNA microarray. FEMS Microbiology Letters, v. 146, n. 2, p. 223-227, 1997., Kurita et al. 2002KURITA, S. et al. Studies on the antimicrobial mechanisms of capsaicin using yeast DNA microarray. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, v. 66, n. 3, p. 532-536, 2002., Athanasiou et al. 2007ATHANASIOU, A. et al. Vanilloid receptor agonists and antagonists are mitochondrial inhibitors: how vanilloids cause non-vanilloid receptor mediated cell death. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, v. 354, n. 1, p. 50-55, 2007., Meghvansi et al. 2010MEGHVANSI, M. K. et al. Naga chilli: a potential source of capsaicinoids with broad-spectrum ethnopharmacological applications. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, v. 132, n. 1, p. 1-14, 2010.). Therefore, the potential use of chili capsaicinoids in the pharmaceutical, agronomic and veterinary industries make them very interesting compounds to be studied.

Peru is the origin center of many species and varieties of chili, as well as one of the world's largest producers. For instance, in 2015, the chili production reached 45,470 t (Gómez 2016GÓMEZ, V. The development of value chains of the Capsicum for the conservation of biodiversity and the improvement of rural livelihoods. Lima: MINAG-SISAP, 2016.). The most cultivated and commercialized Peruvian native chilies are Capsicum chinense Jacq. [locally known as panca chili. In Mexico, it is also known as habanero chili, although the color varies (Figure 1a)] and C. baccatum var. pendulum [locally known as orange chili (Figure 1b)] (Peru 2014PERU. Ministerio de Agricultura y Riego (Minar). Compendio estadístico Perú. Lima: Minar, 2014.). The fruits of these two chili species are widely used in the food and food processing industry, and large quantities of their seeds and placentas (residues) are discarded.

This study aimed to quantify the proportion of edible (pericarp) and non-edible (seeds, placenta and interlocular septa) parts of fruits of these two economically important chili species, as well as to quantify the amount of capsaicinoids and their pungency from extracts of each part of the fruit, in order to determine in which of these parts the highest concentration is found. The quantification of capsaicinoids in the residues (i.e., placenta and seeds) can be useful in suggesting the potential use of those discarded parts for valuable purposes in medicine or agriculture.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was performed from March 2016 to March 2017. A total of 5 kg of Capsicum chinense Jacq. and C. baccatum var. pendulum fruits were obtained from the Sazón Lopeza industry and from the largest municipal market of the city of Huancayo, in Peru. From this set of fruits, 20 fruits were randomly sampled for each species. Fruits of C. chinense were semi-dried and fruits of C. baccatum were fresh (Figure 1), conditions in which they are commonly used and sold. Sampled fruits were transported to the laboratory, in order to measure the fruits and determine their content of capsaicinoids.

The sizes of the fruits were measured and the pericarp, placenta and interlocular septa (hereafter referred to simply as "placenta") and seeds were separated (Figure 1), weighed and dehydrated at 45 ± 3 ºC. The samples were dried in a hot air convection tray dryer, at an inflow speed of 4.83 m s^-1, for 7 h, reaching a humidity of 10 ± 2 %. For each dry sample (i.e., the pericarp, placenta and seeds) and species separately, dry samples were crushed and sieved, in order to obtain suitable and uniform particle sizes (0.425-1.000 mm). The extraction of capsaicinoids was performed using the standardized procedures in the literature (Koleva-Gudeva et al. 2013aKOLEVA-GUDEVA, L. et al. The effect of different methods of extractions of capsaicin on its content in the capsicum oleoresins. Food Science, Engineering and Technology, v. 60, n. 1, p. 917-922, 2013a.). Specifically, 8 g of crushed sample were dissolved in 30 mL of ethanol (99 %), under a stirring speed of 270 rpm, at 60 ºC, for 25 h, time enough to solubilize and increase the extraction, due to a greater distribution of the solvent, homogeneous temperature and close contact between the solute and solvent (Fernández Barbero 2007FERNÁNDEZ BARBERO, G. Extracción, análisis, estabilidad y síntesis de capsaicinoides. Cádiz: Universidad de Cádiz, 2007.). The extract was cooled, filtered and evaporated using a rotary evaporator (R-200-R1 BÜCHI), at 40 ºC and 500 mm Hg, for 15 min.

The dried extract of each part of the fruits was diluted in 25 mL HPLC-grade methanol, and then 2 mL of methanolic extract were filtered in a polyfluoride vinylidene acrodisc membrane (PVDF) of 0.45 µm, in a vial. In three samples (replicates), the capsaicinoids were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC, Shimadzu UFLC model, Tokyo, Japan), with a pinnacle II column (C18, 250 mm x 5 µm, 4.6 µm). The capsaicinoids were separated at 30 ºC, with a flow speed of the mobile phase of 1.5 mL min^-1. The mobile phase was prepared with water at 1 % of acetic acid and acetonitrile (50:50 v/v) mix. Elution was performed under isocratic conditions for 20 min. The reading was performed at 280 nm. For this, the calibration curve was elaborated by previously using each of the standards of capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin, in concentrations of 0.02 mg mL^-1, 0.06 mg mL^-1, 0.1 mg mL^-1, 0.14 mg mL^-1 and 0.18 mg mL^-1 for each one. The chromatographic profiles of the standard solutions were compared with those of the sample under study, considering the retention time, spectrum, area and height. In other words, the capsaicinoids were identified and quantified using the linear equation of the calibration curve of capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin standards.

Pungency was determined in Scoville Units (SHU), following the procedures commonly used in the literature (Helrich 1990HELRICH, K. Official methods of analysis. 15. ed. Arlington: Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 1990., Sanatombi & Sharma 2008SANATOMBI, K.; SHARMA, G. J. Capsaicin content and pungency of different Capsicum spp. cultivars. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, v. 36, n. 2, p. 89-90, 2008.). The particular capsaicinoid content of the chili dry weight was multiplied by the coefficient corresponding to the pure pungency threshold. That is, 16.1 million for capsaicin, 15 million for dihydrocapsaicin and 9.3 million for nordihydrocapsaicin.

The concentration of each capsaicinoid was quantified using the linear regression between the areas of each chromatogram and the concentration of the capsaicinoid standards. The difference in the capsaicinoids content and pungency between the species (C. chinense and C. baccatum) and the parts of the fruits (placenta, seed and pericarp) were analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance. For multiple comparisons, the Tukey test was applied. Finally, a simple correlation test was performed to test the association between the capsaicinoids contents and the pungency. The assumptions of the parametric tests were cheked through the residual plots. The statistical analyses were carried out by using the Systat v. 10.2 software.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The edible (pericarp) and non-edible (placenta, seeds and peduncles) parts of the chili fruits are commonly separated for direct consumption or for the food processing industry. The pericarp represents the largest proportion of the fruit: 62.5 ± 1 % in C. chinense and 85.1 ± 1.3 % in C. baccatum (recalling: semi-dried fruits of C. chinense and fresh fruits of C. baccatum). Among the non-edible parts of the fruit, the placenta was ~10 % in both species, whereas the C. chinense seeds were 22.5 ± 0.9 % and the C. baccatum seeds were 4.6 ± 0.9 %. Therefore, the main discarded structures (i.e., placentas and seeds) that contain capsaicinoids can make up to ~33 % of the fruit. The proportions of the fruit parts found here were similar to other chili species, independently of the fruit size (Buczkowska et al. 2016BUCZKOWSKA, H. et al. Relationships of the capsaicinoid content between the fruit parts of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Acta Scientiarum Polonorum-Hortorum Cultus, v. 15, n. 4, p. 185-198, 2016. ). Fruits of the Capsicum species differ widely in size and shape, but our focal species showed approximately homogeneous characteristics, cylindrical-conical elongated, with average dimensions of 11.3 ± 0.76 cm long and 3.4 ± 0.3 cm of diameter. The fruits have from two to four cavities, between the placenta and the interlocular septa (Figure 1). Fruits of C. chinense have an intense red-brown color and are sold in the domestic market as a whole dried chili, whereas fruits of C. baccatum are sold in fresh conditions, processed paste and dehydrated powder. Both chili species are in great demand, due to their pungent taste and color, for the preparation of culinary foods (Gómez 2016GÓMEZ, V. The development of value chains of the Capsicum for the conservation of biodiversity and the improvement of rural livelihoods. Lima: MINAG-SISAP, 2016.).

The retention times of the chromatograms and their corresponding spectra were compared to identify the capsaicinoids (Figure 2). The absorption spectrum in the ultraviolet region was detected at 280 nm and, under these conditions, the chromatograms were separated without the presence of interfering substances. Most capsaicinoids exhibit their absorption spectra between 200 nm and 350 nm (González-Zamora et al. 2013GONZÁLEZ-ZAMORA, A. et al. Characterization of different capsicum varieties by evaluation of their capsaicinoids content by high performance liquid chromatography, determination of pungency and effect of high temperature. Molecules, v. 18, n. 11, p. 13471-13486, 2013.). The chromatograms of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin from the different fruit parts of both chili species showed an area under the curve in milliunits of absorbance (mAU) and a higher height percentage, which means that these compounds predominate in our focal species. Therefore, the linear regression between the areas of each chromatogram and the concentration (mg mL^-1) of the capsaicinoid standard resulted in a high percentage of association (R² > 99 %) for each capsaicinoid concentration.

The capsaicinoids content varied among the species (F_1,12 = 1934, p < 0.001) and the fruit parts (F_2,12 = 2779, p < 0.001) (Figure 3a). The content of capsaicinoid and pungency were markedly higher in the placenta than in the pericarp or seeds, both in C. baccatum (F_2,6 = 14080, p < 0.001) and mainly in C. chinense (F_2,6 = 2156, p < 0.001) (Figure 3a). The greater amount of capsaicinoids in the placenta is probably related to the site of biosynthesis that is produced mainly in this structure of the fruit (Nowaczyk et al. 2006aNOWACZYK, P. et al. Differences of capsaicinoids content in pericarp and paste of soft-flesh Capsicum spp. fruit. Folia Horticulturae, v. 18, n. 2, p. 99-103, 2006a. and 2006bNOWACZYK, P.; NOWACZYK, L.; BANACH, M. The capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin contents in soft-flesh fruit of Capsicum frutescens L . and Capsicum annuum L . hybrids. Herba Polonica, v. 52, n. 1, p. 38-42, 2006b., Pandhair & Sharma 2008PANDHAIR, V.; SHARMA, S. Accumulation of capsaicin in seed, pericarp and placenta of Capsicum annuum L. fruit. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, v. 17, n. 1, p. 23-27, 2008.), and from where it is transferred to the other fruit structures (Buczkowska et al. 2016BUCZKOWSKA, H. et al. Relationships of the capsaicinoid content between the fruit parts of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Acta Scientiarum Polonorum-Hortorum Cultus, v. 15, n. 4, p. 185-198, 2016. ). Several previous studies also have shown this difference of a higher capsaicinoid content in the placenta of fruits of different chili species (Canto-Flick et al. 2008CANTO-FLICK, A. et al. Capsaicinoids content in Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.): hottest known cultivars. HortScience, v. 43, n. 5, p. 1344-1349, 2008. , Pandhair & Sharma 2008PANDHAIR, V.; SHARMA, S. Accumulation of capsaicin in seed, pericarp and placenta of Capsicum annuum L. fruit. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, v. 17, n. 1, p. 23-27, 2008.). For instance, the amount of capsaicinoids in the placenta of Capsicum annum fruits is 10 times higher than in the pericarp and seeds (Pandhair & Sharma 2008PANDHAIR, V.; SHARMA, S. Accumulation of capsaicin in seed, pericarp and placenta of Capsicum annuum L. fruit. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, v. 17, n. 1, p. 23-27, 2008.).

The variation of capsaicinoid content among chili species is expected, due to the intrinsic biological characteristics of each species. In the present study, C. chinense contains more capsaicinoids than C. baccatum, a fact that is reflected in the concentration at least four times higher in the placenta (Figure 3a). The interspecific variations are attributed to the genotype and the variability of abiotic conditions in which Capsicum species grows, as temperature, humidity, nutrient and other factors that influence positively or negatively the capsaicinoids biosynthesis (Contreras-Padilla & Yahia 1998CONTRERAS-PADILLA, M.; YAHIA, E. M. Changes in capsaicinoids during development, maturation, and senescence of Chile peppers and relation with peroxidase activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 46, n. 6, p. 2075-2079, 1998., Gnayfeed et al. 2001GNAYFEED, M. H. et al. Content of bioactive compounds in pungent spice red pepper (paprika) as affected by ripening and genotype. Journal of Science Food and Agriculture, v. 81, n. 15, p. 1580-1585, 2001., Sung et al. 2005SUNG, Y.; CHANG, Y.; TING, N. Capsaicin biosynthesis in water-stressed hot pepper fruits. Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, v. 46, n. 1, p. 35-42, 2005., Canto-Flick et al. 2008CANTO-FLICK, A. et al. Capsaicinoids content in Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.): hottest known cultivars. HortScience, v. 43, n. 5, p. 1344-1349, 2008. , Mueller-Seitz et al. 2008MUELLER-SEITZ, E.; HIEPLER, C.; PETZ, M. Chili pepper fruits: content and pattern of capsaicinoids in single fruits of different ages. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 56, n. 24, p. 12114-12121, 2008. , Rahman & Inden 2012RAHMAN, M. J.; INDEN, H. Effect of nutrient solution and temperature on capsaicin content and yield contributing characteristics in six sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars. Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment, v. 10, n. 1, p. 524-529, 2012., Giuffrida et al. 2013GIUFFRIDA, D. et al. Characterization of 12 Capsicum varieties by evaluation of their carotenoid profile and pungency determination. Food Chemistry, v. 140, n. 4, p. 794-802, 2013. , González-Zamora et al. 2013GONZÁLEZ-ZAMORA, A. et al. Characterization of different capsicum varieties by evaluation of their capsaicinoids content by high performance liquid chromatography, determination of pungency and effect of high temperature. Molecules, v. 18, n. 11, p. 13471-13486, 2013.).

Independently of the fruit parts and the chili species, the capsaicin concentration predominates (74-76 %), while the dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin contents reach lower percentages (Table 1). As shown here and in other studies, the pungency is highly and directly related to the amount of capsaisinoids, more specifically to the amount of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, which are responsible for the level of the peppery taste of chilies (Li et al. 2009LI, F. et al. Preparative isolation and purification of capsaicinoids from Capsicum frutescens using high-speed counter-current chromatography. Separation and Purification Technology, v. 64, n. 3, p. 304-308, 2009., Sganzerla et al. 2014SGANZERLA, M. et al. Fast method for capsaicinoids analysis from Capsicum chinense fruits. Food Research International, v. 64, n. 10, p. 718-725, 2014.). Therefore, a similar pattern of variation in the content of these compounds reflected the pungency variations among the species (F_1,12 = 1968, p < 0.001) and the fruit parts (F_2,12 = 2871, p < 0.001) (Figure 3b). That is, the placenta presented a high pungency, if compared to the pericarp (the edible part) and seeds, with a lower pungency for both C. chinense (F_2,6 = 2222, p < 0.001) and C. baccatum (F_2,6 = 14756, p < 0.001) (Figure 3b). Nevertheless, including all parts, C. chinense fruits presented a pungency at least four times greater than for C. baccatum (Figure 3b). In fact, C. chinense is recognized as the most pungent species within the domesticated Capsicum species (Canto-Flick et al. 2008CANTO-FLICK, A. et al. Capsaicinoids content in Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.): hottest known cultivars. HortScience, v. 43, n. 5, p. 1344-1349, 2008. ). According to the pungency in Scoville (SHU) categories, fruits of C. chinense are classified as very pungent (> 80,000 SHU), while C. baccatum fruits are considered mildly pungent (Weiss 2002WEISS, E. A. Spice crops. New york: CABI Publishing International, 2002. ). The pungency levels are also supported by the corresponding percentage of the capsaicin content in the fruits of chili species that were studied here. The percentage content of capsaicinoids reached 0.6 % and 0.2 % of dry weight for the C. chinense and C. baccatum fruits, respectively. A previous study (Yao et al. 1994YAO, J.; NAIR, M. G.; CHANDRA, A. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of Scotch bonnet (Capsicum annuum) and quantification of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 42, n. 6, p. 1303-1305, 1994.) defined that the mild peppery varieties contain capsaicinoids concentrations in the range of 0.01-0.3 %, while very peppery varieties contain more than 0.3 % in capsaicinoids.

Somes studies have shown that pests and diseases will likely become a major threat to the tropical agriculture under climate change conditions (Bebber et al. 2014BEBBER, D. P.; HOLMES, T.; GURR, S. J. The global spread of crop pest and pathogens. Global Ecology and Biogeography, v. 23, n. 12, p. 1398-1407, 2014., Tito et al. 2018TITO, R.; VASCONCELOS, H. L.; FEELEY, K. J. Global climate change increases risk of crop yield losses and food insecurity in the tropical Andes. Global Change Biology, v. 24, n. 2, p. e592-e602, 2018.). Therefore, developing a suitable environmentally friendly control management is essential, and the use of capsaicinoids may be helpful for this purpose. There are several evidences that these compounds may be used as bio-insecticides to control several pests that affect different crops. For instance, capsaicin is an effective biopesticide against Myzus persicae and Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Maliszewska & Tęgowska 2012MALISZEWSKA, J.; TęGOWSKA, E. Capsaicin as an organophosphate synergist against Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say). Journal of Plant Protection Research, v. 52, n. 1, p. 28-34, 2012., Koleva-Gudeva et al. 2013bKOLEVA-GUDEVA, L. et al. Content of capsaicin extracted from hot pepper (Capsicum annuum ssp. microcarpum L.) and its use as an ecopesticide. Hemijska Industrija, v. 67, n. 4, p. 671-675, 2013b.).

The high concentration of capsaicinoids in non-edible parts of chili fruits also highlights the potential use of these materials that will be low cost raw materials. Here, we show that discarded structures (placenta and seeds) reach up to 33 % and, considering the total chili production in Peru for 2015 [45,470 t (Gómez 2016GÓMEZ, V. The development of value chains of the Capsicum for the conservation of biodiversity and the improvement of rural livelihoods. Lima: MINAG-SISAP, 2016.)], more than 14,000 t must have been discarded.

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

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