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In vitro Assessment of the Bioaccessibility of Carotenoids from Sun-Dried Chilli Peppers

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Abstract

Chilli peppers have been recognized as an excellent source of antioxidants as they are rich in bioactive phytochemicals such as carotenoids which are known to exert various beneficial effects in vivo. Absorption is an important factor in the determination of the potential biological effects of carotenoids. The bioaccessibility of a food constituent such as a carotenoid represents its potential to be absorbed in humans. There is very limited information in the literature regarding the content and bioaccessibility of carotenoids from dried peppers. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were: first, to determine the carotenoid content of 20 varieties of red, orange or yellow coloured sun-dried chilli peppers belonging to either of four Capsicum species (annuum, baccatum, chinense and chacoense); and second, to quantify the carotenoid micellarization (bioaccessibility) following an in vitro digestion procedure. Red peppers had a higher carotenoid content and bioaccessibility than either the orange peppers or yellow pepper. Xanthophylls showed greater bioaccessibility than carotenes. Our findings confirm that dried chilli peppers are a good source of carotenoids.

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Abbreviations

DW:

Dried weight

HBSS:

Hank’s balanced salts solution

SEM:

Standard error of the mean

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by European Community POR (Programmi Operativi Regionali) Calabria FSE (Fondo Sociale Europeo) 2007/2013. The authors are grateful to Miceli s.r.l. (Italy) for supplying the pepper fruits.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have not conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, CS, Italy

    Alessandro Pugliese, Rosa Tundis, Francesco Menichini & Monica R. Loizzo

  2. School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Republic of Ireland

    Alessandro Pugliese, Yvonne O’Callaghan, Karen Galvin & Nora O’Brien

Authors
  1. Alessandro Pugliese
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  2. Yvonne O’Callaghan
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  3. Rosa Tundis
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  4. Karen Galvin
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  5. Francesco Menichini
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  6. Nora O’Brien
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  7. Monica R. Loizzo
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Correspondence to Rosa Tundis.

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Pugliese, A., O’Callaghan, Y., Tundis, R. et al. In vitro Assessment of the Bioaccessibility of Carotenoids from Sun-Dried Chilli Peppers. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 69, 8–17 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-013-0397-2

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