Fatty acid profile of the fat from three pepper varieties (Arnoia, Fresno de la Vega and Los Valles-Benavente). Effect of the ripening stage

• Main Authors: S. Martínez, A. Curros, J. Bermúdez, J. Carballo, I. Franco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2006-12-01
• Series: Grasas y Aceites
• Subjects: fatty acid profile; lipids; peppers; ripening
• Online Access: http://grasasyaceites.revistas.csic.es/index.php/grasasyaceites/article/view/68
• ISSN: 0017-3495; 1988-4214

Total fatty acids content was studied in three varieties of peppers (Arnoia, Fresno de la Vega and Los Valles-Benavente) in different commercial stages of ripening: green and red in the Arnoia variety and, green, breaker and red in the Fresno de la Vega and Los Valles-Benavente varieties. With ripening, an increase was observed in the lipid content in the peppers of all three varieties; the values showed are inside the range described in the literature for other varieties. At the end of maturation (red peppers), fat content allows for differentiating the three varieties under study. The fatty acid profiles were similar in the three varieties of peppers and in the three stages of ripening: the most abundant fatty acid was linoleic (C18:2) followed by linolenic  (C18:3) and palmitic (C16); these fatty acids represent more than 80% of the total fatty acids and do not show important variations during ripening in the three varieties of peppers. Minor changes in the major and minor fatty acids during ripening were observed in the Los Valles-Benavente variety. Using discriminant analysis 100% of the green, breaker and red peppers were correctly classified and differentiated from their content (%) in individual fatty acids: C16, C16:1, C17, C18, C18:1Z,T, C18:2 y C18:3.