Three cultivars of yellow pepper (Capsicum annuum, L.), "Amador Híbrido F1", "Zarco Híbrido F1", "Sunboy Híbrido F1", grown in the State of Sao Paulo, were analyzed to quantify carotenoids content, to evaluate the provitamin A activity and to assess the loss of such activity after cooking.The analytical procedure consisted of saponification with 10% KOH aqueous, before organic solvent extration and column chromatography separation.The three cultivars presented similar profile of carotenoids among them, nine were identified: phytofluene, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, cis-zeta-carotene, 5,6,5’,6’-diepoxide-beta-carotene, 5,6,5’,6’-diepoxide-cryptoxantin, beta-cryptoxantin, lutein and violaxantin. Alpha and beta-carotenes were the carotenoids which contributed to the provitamin A activity. The amount of vitamin A expressed in retinol equivalents/100g, ranged from 23.17 to 48.70 for fresh samples. As carotenoids are heat sensitive, the vitamin A values were smaller after cooking during 10 minutes, varying between 18.22 and 36.27, what represents a reduction between 21.08 to 30.80%.
carotenoid; provitamin A; yellow pepper (Capsicum sp); cooking
