The evolution of individual and total capsaicinoids content in three pepper varieties of Capsicum chinense Jacq. (‘Bode’ (B), ‘Habanero’ (H), and ‘Habanero Roxo’ (Hr)) during fruit ripening was studied. The five major capsaicinoids (nordihydrocapsaicin, capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin, and homodihydrocapsaicin) were extracted using ultrasound-assisted extraction and the extracts were analysed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (UHPLC-Fl). The plants were grown in a glasshouse and sampled every 7 days until over-ripening. As expected, the results indicated that the total capsaicinoids content increases during the ripening of pepper fruits. The maximum contents of capsaicinoids were reached at different fruit development stages depending on the cultivar. The ‘Habanero Roxo’ pepper presented the greatest total capsaicinoids content (3.86 mg g⁻¹ fresh weigh, F.W.), followed by the ‘Habanero’ pepper (1.33 mg g⁻¹ F.W.) and ‘Bode’ pepper (1.00 mg g⁻¹ F.W.). In all the samples, capsaicin represented more than 80% of the total capsaicinoids content. Due to the high variability observed in the evolution of capsaicinoids content over the ripening process, this work intends to contribute to the existing knowledge on this aspect in relation to the quality of peppers.

Inadequately managed agricultural waste significantly impacts the environment, health, and economy. This pollution stems from the underutilization, inadequate awareness, and insufficient treatment of agricultural waste. Fruit and vegetable wastes are valuable sources of bioactive compounds. This study aimed to revalorize discarded waste from red habanero chili peppers (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) by extracting bioactive compounds through different extraction processes: maceration (ME), maceration assisted by ultrasound (US), Soxhlet extraction (SE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and supercritical fluid extraction with a co-solvent (SFEC). The extraction processes had significant effects on extraction efficiency and phytochemical profile (capsaicinoids and carotenoids recovery). The results indicated that the highest-efficiency process was SFEC, in addition to its high phytochemicals recovery (14.9 mg of total capsaicinoids and total carotenoids 292.09 µg per gram of sample). Concerning the phytochemical profile of the extract, the maceration process yielded the highest concentration of compounds, followed by US and SFEC. These data reveal that the use of the SFE and SFEC processes is recommended for extracting phytochemicals with biological activity from red habanero chili pepper waste for diverse industrial applications.

Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense) is a source of phytochemicals or bioactive compounds that have shown benefits in human health. For phytochemicals extraction process, a prior drying is required. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of drying temperature (30, 50 and 70 °C) on total capsaicinoids and total carotenoids, and the coefficients of water diffusivity during drying of sliced red habanero pepper. The results show that the bioactive compounds, present a major stability at high temperature (70 °C), the effective diffusivity increased with drying temperature and the activation energy of the process was calculated to 39.575 kJ mol-1 K-1. Several theoretical aspects of average water diffusivity are discussed. El chile habanero (Capsicum chinense) es una fuente de fitoquímicos o compuestos bioactivos que han demostrado beneficios para la salud humana. El secado del fruto es una etapa importante previa a su extracción. Por lo tanto, el objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar el efecto de la temperatura de secado (30, 50 y 70 °C) sobre la evolución de los capsaicinoides y carotenoides totales además de evaluar la difusividad promedio del agua durante el secado de rodajas de chile habanero rojo. Los resultados muestran que los compuestos bioactivos presentan buena estabilidad a 70 °C, que fue la temperatura mas alta probada. La difusividad efectiva aumenta con la temperatura de secado y la energía de activación del proceso es de 39.575 kJ mol-1 K-1. Se discuten algunos aspectos teóricos de la difusividad promedio del agua.