Air-dried Capsicum annuum var. acuminatum medium and big: determination of bioactive constituents, antioxidant activity and carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes inhibition

In the present study the total phenols, flavonoids, carotenoids and capsaicinoids content, the in vitro antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of extracts of air-dried fruits fromtwo Capsicumannuum cultivarswere investigated. A different composition between the two cultivars was evidenced. C. annuum var. acuminatum medium extract presented a major content of phenols, carotenoids, capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin while C. annuum var. acuminatum big extract is characterized by the highest quercetin, luteolin and kaempferol content with 68.0, 87.6 and 29.7 μg/g dried weight, respectively, analyzed by HPLC. Medium pepper showed the highest radical scavenging activity in DPPH assay (IC50 of 85.3 μg/ml) while big pepper have an interesting activity in ABTS assay (IC50 of 16.4 μg/ml) and the highest inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation with an IC50 value of 1.2 μg/ml after 30 min of incubation. A selective inhibitory activity against α-amylase was demonstrated for C. annuum var. acuminatum big lipophilic fraction (IC50 values of 8.7 μg/ml). The obtained results suggest that C. annuum cultivars could be used as valuable flavor with functional properties for foods.