Impact of genetic and environmental variation on development of flavonoids and carotenoids in pepper (Capsicum spp.)

Peppers (Capsicum spp.) were grown for phytochemical analyses at three different locations including a greenhouse at College Station and field plots at Uvalde and Weslaco, Texas. Cultivar effects were significant at each location for all compounds. The best sources of β-carotene were mature greenhouse-grown fruit of Fidel (23.7 μg/g) and C 127 (22.3 μg/g). Mature greenhouse fruit of Tropic Bell (10.1 μg/g) and PI 357509 (9.2 μg/g) had high lutein, but Uvalde field-grown mature fruit of these lines were low in this compound, (1.4 and 0.5 μg/g, respectively). MJ 201 fruit had the highest zeaxanthin levels (10 μg/g) at both College Station and Uvalde. The best sources of quercetin over all locations were the yellow wax types, Banana Supreme (186 μg/g), PI 357509 (86 μg/g) and Rio Grande Gold (26 μg/g). Fidel (37 μg/g) and Banana Supreme (21.5 μg/g) were the best sources of luteolin. Immature fruit generally contained lower levels of lutein and xeaxanthin than mature, colored fruit. These differences were not always statistically significant. Greenhouse-grown peppers at College Station contained more carotenoids than the field-grown peppers in Uvalde and Weslaco, but there were no significant differences among locations for flavonoid concentrations. Several good candidate parents were identified for the breeding program to develop novel pepper varieties with increased health benefits. Families of these varieties are currently being examined to assess the impact of specific environmental factors and identify genes involved in regulating synthesis of these beneficial phytochemicals.