LACERDA, Chintia Rodrigues de Araujo.
Abstract:
Pepper is one of the most consumed vegetables and important for the economy when
ready for consumption. The objective was to evaluate the physical-chemical
characteristics and bioactive compounds of minimally processed green pepper. The
peppers were produced in the experimental area of Teixeira, Paraíba and collected120
days after sowing with green coloring, transported to the Laboratory of Chemistry,
Biochemistry and Food Analysis, at the Center for Science and Agri-Food Technology,
at the Federal University of Campina Grande, Campus Pombal . The fruits were
selected, classified by size, weighed and washed under running water to remove surface
dirt. The peduncles and seeds were removed with the aid of knives, the fruits being
processed in the entire format, in slices and cubes. The minimally processed product
was placed in expanded polystyrene trays, labeled, wrapped with polyvinyl chloride and
kept at a temperature of 4.0 ± 1 ºC and RH of 80 ± 5% for 10 days. The experiment was
conducted in a 3 x 5 factorial scheme, where the first factor corresponds to the pepper
(whole, round and cube) and the second factor to the conservation times (0, 2, 4, 6, and
8 days). Total, reducing and non-reducing sugars had a significant increase at the end of
the preservation time for all treatments; the bioactive compounds differed from the
second day of conservation. There was little significant correlation in physical-chemical
characteristics and bioactive compounds. The minimally processed product remained
stable and with significant values for bioactive compounds in whole and slicer smelters,
indicating that processing together the conservation under refrigeration is a
recommended technique.
