Nutrient composition and antioxidant activity of 10 pepper (Capsicum annuun) varieties

The nutritional composition of 10 pepper varieties collected from greenhouses in Almeria (Spain), and unanalyzed until now, was determined. The analyzed principles included: Moisture, crude protein, available carbohydrates, lipids, dietary fiber, ashes, energy value, Vitamin C, fatty acids, carotenoids, minerals, nitrate and oxalic acid. The output of the analyses showed higher Vitamin C and carotenoid amounts in these pepper varieties than in conventional ones. The antioxidative capacity of the extracts, evaluated both with the beta-carotene breaching and the 2,2,-diphenyl-1-picrylhydracyl (DPPH center dot) radical scavenging methods, has shown that the antioxidant activity of the extracts of some varieties was comparable with those of the commercial antioxidants used with comparative purposes.