STORAGE STABILITY OF CAROTENOIDS IN PAPRIKA FROM CONVENTIONAL, ORGANIC AND FROST-DAMAGED SPICE RED PEPPERS AS INFLUENCED BY ILLUMINATION AND ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTATION

Response of natural colorants in paprika from conventional, organic and frost-damaged spice peppers to illumination of 2,000, 4,000 and 6,000 lux was studied. The impact of antioxidant supplementation on color retention in such products was also aimed. During 12 months of storage in the dark, the paprika from conventional, organic and frost-damaged peppers lost 60.2, 99.7 and 79.3 ASTA units, respectively. The tocopherol supplementation retarded carotenoid degradation by 28, 32 and 40% in paprika from conventional, organic and frost-damaged peppers, respectively, when stored in the dark. The color retained after 1 month of storage with 2,000 lux illumination was 1.14, 1.33 and 1.56 times higher in supplemented than in nonsupplemented paprika from conventional, organic and frost-damaged peppers, respectively. The magnitude of prevention by antioxidant supplementation increased to 48, 47 and 56%, respectively, when the paprika samples were stored under 6,000 lux illumination. The kinetics study on the effect of fluorescent light on ASTA color loss estimated the apparent zero-order reaction, rate constants and predicted half-life times. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Spice paprika is widely used as a source of intensive natural colorants including bioactive compounds that make the product of nutritional importance too. So, it is of special interest from the production, processing and marketing points of view to minimize the loss of carotenoids during storage at ambient conditions. Supplementation with additional antioxidants can increase, to a high extent, the stability of carotenoids toward light-induced degradation and, thereby, can assist in keeping the high quality of stored spice paprika in the markets. Also, improving the storage stability of colorants in organic and frost-damaged paprika is of great economic benefit for producers and technologist.