Efecto de los procesos de secado y encurtido sobre la capacidad antioxidante de los fitoquímicos del chiltepín (capsicum annuum L. var. glabriusculum)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two conservation methods: sun drying and traditional pickling on the physicochemical quality, composition and antioxidant capacity of phenolic compounds and capsaicinoids of wild chiltepin (Capsicum annuum L. var. glabriusculum). The results showed that the conservation processes studied in this work caused changes on the physicochemical quality. However, the parameter values, indicators of this quality, remained in agreement with the NMX. Furthermore, the level of phenols and the antioxidant capacity of the methanolic phase from sun dried chiltepin were not a effected. Respect to the traditional pickling process, total phenols, total flavonoids and capsaicinoids decreased (less than 25%). Therefore, the results of this study showed that pickling conditions had a greater impact on the levels of phenolic compounds, capsaicinoids and the antioxidant capacity than the sun drying. We conclude that the process of sun drying and pickling traditional chiltepin methods may be adequate to preserve these phytochemicals.