2024-03-28T16:07:57Zhttp://digital.csic.es/dspace-oai/requestoai:digital.csic.es:10261/113812016-08-09T12:33:07Zcom_10261_68com_10261_2col_10261_321
Xanthophyll Esterification Accompanying Carotenoid Overaccumulation in Chromoplast of Capsicum annuum Ripening Fruits Is a Constitutive Process and Useful for Ripeness Index
Hornero-Méndez, Dámaso
Mínguez Mosquera, María Isabel
Carotenoids
Capsicum annuum
Cultivars
Paprika
Xanthophyll esters
Provitamin A
Ripening
Changes in xanthophyll esterification degree during pepper fruit ripening have been studied in
five cultivars (Numex, Mana, Belrubi, Delfin, and Negral). Esterification of xanthophylls with fatty
acids is seen to be a process that is contemporary with and directly linked to the transformation of
chloroplast (present in the green fruit) into chromoplast (present in the red fruit). Changes in the
fractions of free and partially and totally esterified carotenoids are similar between varieties,
reflecting the constitutive nature of esterification as part of the ripening process and being controlled
by it. From the first stages of ripening, the fraction of totally esterified pigments (zeaxanthin diester,
â-cryptoxanthin diester, capsanthin diester, and capsorubin diester) makes up almost 50% of the
total carotenoid content. The proportion of the partially esterified pigment fraction (zeaxanthin
monoester, capsanthin monoester, and capsorubin monoester) in the total carotenoid content
increases, with a gradual decrease in the fraction of free pigments (â-cryptoxanthin, â-carotene,
zeaxanthin, capsanthin, and capsorubin). In the fully ripe stage, a balance is reached between the
three esterification fractions (free, partially esterified, and totally esterified), with mean values of
24.17 ( 4.06, 31.48 ( 4.61, and 44.36 ( 5.05, respectively, which seems to be largely independent
of variety. This suggests a marked control of the carotenoid composition of the totally developed
chromoplast, indicating its use as an index of ripeness. The inclusion in the present study of a
variety (Negral) that retains chlorophylls when ripening, and which shows the same esterification
behavior, supports the idea that carotenogenesis is normal and independent of chlorophyll catabolism.
2009-03-09T10:13:50Z
2009-03-09T10:13:50Z
2000-04-19
artículo
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 48: 1617-1622 (2000)
0021-8561
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/11381
10.1021/jf9912046
eng
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf9912046
closedAccess
American Chemical Society