Food Science and Technology | 2021
Authenticity markers in habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense) by the quantification of mineral multielements through ICP-spectroscopy
Abstract
Chili peppers are considered an important ingredient for gastronomy worldwide due to its sensory properties that influence the acceptance by consumers (Guzmán & Bosland, 2017; SolleiroRebolledo & Mejía-Chávez, 2018). These fruits contain different bio-functional compounds (e.g., capsaicinoids, vitamins A, E and C and carotenoids) and antioxidants (e.g. catechin, quercetin and kaempferol) that help preventing cardiovascular diseases, cancer and neurological disorders (Guzmán & Bosland, 2017; Rodríguez-Buenfil et al., 2020). In Mexico, the production of chili peppers contributes with 20.2% of the national vegetables production, reporting more than 3 million ton of chili peppers in 2019 and a productive area of 147,000 ha destined for planting/ harvesting a vast variety of chili peppers (e.g. serrano, de arbol, jalapeno, guajillo, pasilla, ancho, piquin, manzano and habanero) (Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera, 2020). In Mexico the production of habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) reached 20,829.61 tons in 2019, while in the Yucatan region was of 6,287.70 tons in the same year (OneyMontalvo et al., 2020). An 80% of the production of habanero pepper is consumed fresh and the rest is used in the preparation of ancestral mayan foods and sauces (Castillejos-Alegría & Porte-Morales 1997). Furthermore, habanero pepper has the distinction of Denomination of Origin (DO) associated with a specific Official Mexican Standard (NOM-189-SCFI) (Mexico, 2017) where its characteristics are state. Due to its economical and social importance, it is necessary to quantify the content of mineral multi-elements in habanero pepper to verify its safety and quality (Herman-Lara et al., 2019). In this sense, the habanero chili with DO is grown mainly in two types of soils in Yucatan, the Box lu’um (black soil) and K’áankab lu’um (red soil), these correspond to the mayan language names (Rodríguez Buenfil et al., 2020). However, there are other factors of great importance such as temperature, humidity, harvest number and ripening that may contribute to changes in the concentration of some mineral elements (e. g., Ca, K, Mg, Na, Cu, Cr, Mn, Se and Zn) necessary for the correct metabolic functioning of the human being (Sevgi-Kirdar et al., 2015). From the point of view Authenticity markers in habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense) by the quantification of mineral multielements through ICP-spectroscopy