Carotenoid composition in mature Capsicum annuum

We investigated the carotenoid composition of thirteen types of Capsicum annuum fruit at full maturity and discussed the ratio of beta-carotene to capsanthin. Among the thirteen types examined, Cherry sweet and Raruku had the fruit with the highest values of total carotenoid content and capsanthin content. Raruku and Sarara had high capsanthin content (Raruku 63%, Sarara 59%). Although ten C. annuum varieties were included in the 13 fruit types sampled, a high correlation (r = 0.960) was observed between beta-carotene and capsanthin. In addition, the 1: 10 carotene capsanthin ratio was used as an index for the capsanthin content of ripe C. annuum.