Ethanolic extract from Capsicum chinense Jacq. ripe fruits: phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity and development of biodegradable films

Abstract

Capsicum spp. pepper has great economic and social importance in agribusiness worldwide, mainly associated with its high performance in cookery as a spice. This study aimed at determining the chemical profile of the ethanolic extract from Capsicum chinense Jacq. (EECC) ripe fruits by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and at evaluating its antioxidant activity by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. Besides, biodegradable films were prepared by incorporating EECC into arrowroot biofilms. LC-MS identified 10 phenolic compounds, a fact that corroborates its high concentration of total phenolic compounds, i. e., 277.62 ± 12.06 mg gallic acid/100g crude extract. High antioxidant activity of EECC was expressed as IC₅₀ values for reagents DPPH (IC₅₀ = 18.04 µg/mL), ABTS (IC₅₀ = 25.33 µg/mL) and FRAP (IC₅₀ = 128.58 µg/mL). Biodegradable films incorporating different doses of EECC (250-1000 µL) were obtained by a casting technique. The higher the EECC concentration, the higher their thickness, color, variable moisture content and the lower their solubility. This study proposes a new use to the plant extract from C. chinense, a natural product that may be applied to the development of biofilms to coat food and retard its deterioration. In addition, antioxidant activity of this type of pepper is also shown.

Keywords:
food packaging; arrowroot; habanero-type pepper; capsaicin; dihydrocapsaicin