Journal of Crop Production and Processing

To study the antioxidative activities and fruit quality of four bell pepper cultivars, a greenhouse experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with 4 replications. The four bell pepper cultivars consisted of green ‘Traviata’, red ‘Inspratian’, orange ‘Aracia’ and yellow ‘Taranto’ and were grown in a greenhouse with soil media. Fruits were harvested near the full color stage, and the quality factors including total soluble solids, organic acids, vitamin C and fruit extract yield and antioxidant factors consisting of total phenolic compound, DPPH free radicals scavenging and OH scavenging were measured. The results showed that bell pepper cultivars were different in antioxidative activities and quality factors. Fruit of orange ‘Aracia’ cultivar contained the most total soluble solids content and green ‘Traviata’ and yellow ‘Taranto’ cultivars had the highest amount of organic acids. The highest amount of extract yield was observed in yellow ‘Taranto’ cultivar. Fruit of red ‘Inspratian’ cultivar had the greatest vitamin C content and the antioxidative activities consisting of total phenolic compound, DPPH free radicals scavenging and OH scavenging, while the lowest amounts of the latter attributes were found in the green ‘Traviata’ cultivar. Findings of this research could be useful in understanding the capability of different bell pepper cultivars in human health.