THE COMPOSITION OF TWO SPANISH PEPPER VARIETIES (FRESNO DE LA VEGA AND BENAVENTE-LOS VALLES) IN DIFFERENT RIPENING STAGES

The chemical composition of two traditional varieties of Spanish peppers, Fresno de la Vega and Benavente-Los Valles harvested in the provinces of Leon and Zamora, respectively, at different ripening stages (green mature, breaker and red) were evaluated. Herein we report the global composition, mineral and trace element contents, and the most relevant physicochemical parameters of each variety of pepper collected in 2 consecutive years. Both pepper varieties showed a similar chemical composition, except in vitamin C content, which resulted to be about 70% higher in Fresno de la Vega peppers. Red ripe fruits were high in total carbohydrates, fructose, glucose, sucrose, fat (64.5, 29.14, 25.57, 2.94, 1.79/100 g dry weight, respectively) and total soluble solids (6.83 degrees Brix). Ascorbic acid content also increased progressively during ripening, reaching a mean value of 1.81 mg/100 g dry weight for Fresno de la Vega peppers. Potassium was the most abundant of the analyzed elements in the all samples, followed by phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and sodium. The order of the levels of the trace elements was iron > manganese > zinc > copper.