Effects of different plant parts and solvents on bioactive compounds and antioxidation in large fruit Bird’s eye chili (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Superhot)

Abstract

The production chain is impacted by an overabundance of large fruit Bird’s eye chili (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Superhot) on the market. Another way to make the most of the potential of raw materials for product development is to supplement the data on phytochemicals and antioxidative activity by segmentation (fruit, placenta, seed, and pericarp). In an experiment, distilled water, 60% ethanol and 90% ethanol were used as the primary solvents. The outcomes demonstrated that placenta and seeds using 90% ethanol as a solvent (PS-Et90) contained capsaicin, total phenolics, and total flavonoids at their most outstanding levels (16.30 µg/mg, 44.65 µg GAE/mg, and 21.77 µg CE/mg, respectively). At the same time, the Scoville Heat Unit was high at 244,550 SHU (very high pungency). Additionally, it demonstrated the highest antioxidative activity (129.57 µg TE/mg) when tested with the ABTS method, and total flavonoids were discovered to enhance the antioxidation effect when measured by ABTS and FRAP methods. PS-Et90 had a significantly different potency than the other groups when the extracts were grouped using Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis based on phytochemical data and antioxidant activity. Therefore, the placenta and seeds appear to be preferable over others when utilizing large fruit Bird’s eye chili for pharmacological purposes. Using 90% ethanol as a solvent will provide the best bioavailability.