2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Twenty-six hot pepper, Capsicum genotypes, representing species originally acquired from world-wide different locations were selected from the USDA Capsicum germplasm collection to represent four hot pepper species, C. annuum L., C. baccatum L., C. chinense Jacq., and C. frutescens. At harvest, mature fruits of plants grown under field condition were analyzed for capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, ascorbic acid, and phenols content. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were extracted using methanol and quantified using a gas chromatograph equipped with a nitrogen phosphorus detector (GC/NPD). Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and total phenols were extracted using 0.4 solution of oxalic acid and 80% solution of ethanol, respectively and quantified using spectrophotometric methods. The main objective of this investigation was to select pepper genotypes for use as parents in pepper hybridizations programs for improvement in fruit composition of bioactive compounds with health promoting properties. Results indicated that plant identification (PI) 6311144 from C. frutescens contained the greatest concentration of capsaicin (323 µg g^-1 fresh fruit), whereas PI 123474 from C. annuum contained the greatest concentrations of dihydrocapcaicin (205 µg g^-1 fresh fruit). Overall, results revealed that PI 631144 contained the greatest concentrations of total capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin (466 µg g^-1 fresh fruit). Variations in ascorbic acid contents were found among the genotypes tested. These variations ranged from 216.8 µg g^-1 in PI 260571 from C. baccatum originated in Bolivia to 583.4 µg g^-1 fresh fruits in PI 631144 from C. frutescens originated in Guatemala. Phenols in PIs 639661 and 631144 from C. frutescens contained 807 and 798 µg g^-1 fresh fruit, respectively that dominated all other genotypes tested.