The effect of ethyl methane sulfonate on the antioxidant content of chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.)

Besides being known as a source of pungent flavor for cooking, chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) is also a source of antioxidants due to its capsaicin, carotenoids and chlorophyll contents. In this study, the capsaicin, carotenoids and chlorophyll variations during fruit maturation of chili peppers after Ethyl Methane Sulfonate (EMS) treatment were investigated. Before planting, seeds of three lines of chili pepper were treated with EMS at concentrations of 0.01%, 0.02% or 0.04%. EMS provides a varied effect on the antioxidants content of the three lines of chili pepper. Genotypes 1 and 2 showed the tendency of increasing capsaicin content along with increase in EMS concentration, on the other, Genotype 3 showed the opposite phenomenon. EMS tended to increase the carotenoids content of the mature fruit of Genotype 1 but decreased the carotenoids content of the mature fruit of Genotype 3. For Genotypes 1 and 2, mature fruits contained higher capsaicin content than the young fruit, while Genotype 3 was just the opposite. Generally, the carotenoids content in the mature fruit is higher than that of the young. Young and mature fruits contain low concentrations of chlorophyll.