Volatile profile and sensory quality of new varieties of Capsicum chinense pepper

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the sensory quality and the volatile compound profile of new varieties of Capsicum chinense pepper (CNPH 4080 a strain of ‘Cumari-do-Pará’ and BRS Seriema) with a known commercial variety (Biquinho). Volatiles were isolated from the headspace of fresh fruit by SPME and identified by GC-MS. Pickled peppers were produced for sensory evaluation. Aroma descriptors were evaluated by Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) method, and the frequency data were submitted to Correspondence Analysis. Flavor acceptance was assessed by hedonic scale and analyzed by ANOVA. BRS Seriema showed the richest volatile profile, with 55 identified compounds, and up to 40% were compounds with sweet aroma notes. CNPH 4080 showed similar volatile profile to that of Biquinho pepper, but it had higher amounts of pepper-like and green-note compounds. The samples did not differ in terms of flavor acceptance, but they showed differences in aroma quality confirming the differences found in the volatile profiles. The C. chinense varieties developed by Embrapa proved to be more aromatic than Biquinho variety, and were well accepted by the judges.

Full text

102 Ciênc. Tecnol. Aliment., Campinas, 33(Supl. 1): 102-108, fev. 2013
Original
ISSN 0101-2061 Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos
Received 22/8/2012
Accepted 26/10/2012 (00Q5863)
1 Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry, CEP 60511-110, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil, e-mail: deborah.garruti@embrapa.br
2 Food Tecnology Department, Federal University of Ceará – UFC, CEP 60020-181, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
3 Pharmacy Faculty, Federal University of Ceará – UFC, CEP 60020-181, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
*Corresponding author
Volatile prole and sensory quality of new varieties of Capsicum chinense pepper
Perl de voláteis e qualidade sensorial de novas variedades de pimentas Capsicum chinense
Deborah dos Santos GARRUTI1*, Nayra de Oliveira Frederico PINTO2, Victor Costa Castro ALVES3,
Maria Flávia Azevedo da PENHA2, Eric de Castro TOBARUELA3, Ídila Maria da Silva ARAÚJO1
1 Introduction
Peppers have been widely used over the years as preservatives
and to add avor to foods. ey are cultivated throughout the
world, and China is the largest producer followed by Mexico and
Turkey. e popularity of pepper in the U.S. has been increasing
over the years and, in 2010, 932,580 MT pepper was produced
to meet growing demand (CHINN; SHARMA-SHIVAPPA;
COTTER, 2011; FOOD..., 2012).
e genus Capsicum comprises 31 species, of which ve are
domesticated and the others are classied as semi-domesticated
and wild. Capsicum chinense originated in the Americas and,
among all domesticated species, is the most widespread in
tropical America with great biological diversity (SOUZA;
MARTINS; PEREIRA, 2011). Due to its wide adaptation to both
tropical and equatorial climates, it is the most produced and
consumed species of pepper in Brazil (LANNESetal., 2007).
e great genetic variability of C. chinense is particularly
evident in the fruits that may have dierent shapes, colors,
sizes, and pungency levels. While most of C. chinense peppers
usually present extremely strong pungency and aroma (PINO;
FUENTES; BARRIOS, 2011), the variety called Biquinho has
a strong pepper aroma without the burning sensation. Its
characteristic aroma, combined with a sweet avor and mild
pungency, makes Biquinho well appreciated in culinary as a
avoring agent and even as an appetizer.
There is a wide variety of uses and forms of pepper
consumption in Brazil. As a result, the Brazilian pepper market
is very segmented and diverse; peppers are sold fresh, as sauce,
and as new emerging products, namely canned peppers and
special jellies (RIBEIROetal., 2008).
Resumo
O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a qualidade sensorial e o perl de compostos voláteis de novas variedades de pimenta Capsicum (CNPH
4080, uma linhagem de cumari-do-pará, e BRS Seriema), com uma variedade comercial (Biquinho). Voláteis foram isolados do headspace
dos frutos in natura por SPME e identicados por CG-EM. Conservas das pimentas foram produzidas para a análise sensorial. Descritores
do aroma foram avaliados pelo método Check-All-at-Apply (CATA) e os dados de frequência submetidos à Análise de Correspondência.
A aceitação do sabor das amostras foi analisada por meio de ANOVA. A BRS Seriema apresentou rico perl de voláteis, com 53 compostos
identicados, sendo que cerca de 40% deles são compostos de aroma doce. A CNPH 4080 apresentou perl semelhante ao da pimenta
Biquinho, porém com compostos de odor de pimenta e notas aromáticas verdes em maiores quantidades. As amostras não diferiram entre
si quanto à aceitação do sabor, contudo evidenciaram diferenças na qualidade do aroma, conrmando as diferenças encontradas no perl
de voláteis. As variedades C. chinense desenvolvidas pela Embrapa demonstraram ser mais aromáticas que a variedade Biquinho, sendo que
todas as amostras agradaram aos consumidores.
Palavras-chave: análise de aroma; HS-SPME/GC-MS; método CATA.
Abstract
e objective of this study was to compare the sensory quality and the volatile compound prole of new varieties of Capsicum chinense pepper
(CNPH 4080 a strain of ‘Cumari-do-Pará’ and BRS Seriema) with a known commercial variety (Biquinho). Volatiles were isolated from the
headspace of fresh fruit by SPME and identied by GC-MS. Pickled peppers were produced for sensory evaluation. Aroma descriptors were
evaluated by Check-All-at-Apply (CATA) method, and the frequency data were submitted to Correspondence Analysis. Flavor acceptance
was assessed by hedonic scale and analyzed by ANOVA. BRS Seriema showed the richest volatile prole, with 55 identied compounds, and
up to 40% were compounds with sweet aroma notes. CNPH 4080 showed similar volatile prole to that of Biquinho pepper, but it had higher
amounts of pepper-like and green-note compounds. e samples did not dier in terms of avor acceptance, but they showed dierences in
aroma quality conrming the dierences found in the volatile proles. e C. chinense varieties developed by Embrapa proved to be more
aromatic than Biquinho variety, and were well accepted by the judges.
Keywords: avor analysis; HS-SPME/GC-MS; check-all-that-apply (CATA).

Ciênc. Tecnol. Aliment., Campinas, 33(Supl. 1): 102-108, fev. 2013 103
Garruti et al.
e variety Biquinho, with intensely red or orange colored
fruits, about 3cm in length and 1.5cm in width, is widely grown
in the Brazilian Southeast region. It was formerly used as an
ornamental plant only, but it is currently used in the preparation
of sauces and salads. It is considered a bit pungent chili,
presenting around Scoville rating of 1,000 SHU, Scoville heat
units, corresponding to level 1 in the heat scale (BONTEMPO,
2007; ZANCANARO, 2008).
e aim of this study was to compare the sensory quality
and the volatile profile of the new varieties of Capsicum
pepper CNPH 4080 and BRS Seriema with a well-known and
appreciated variety, Biquinho.
2 Materials and methods
e varieties of Capsicum chinense peppers BRS Seriema,
CNPH 4080, and Orange Biquinho were obtained from the
Active Germplasm Bank of Peppers at Embrapa Vegetables,
Brasilia, DF. ey were transported by plane in thermo boxes
within six hours to Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry, Fortaleza,
CE.
e peppers were selected for full physiological maturity
and washed. e samples used for chromatographic analyses
were kept frozen at –18 °C, and those used for sensory analyses
were preserved in brine. e ow diagram is illustrated in
Figure1. e fruits were sanitizatized with sodium hypochlorite
Over the last decades, consumers have become more
demanding in terms of experiencing new aromas and
avors; therefore, avor and pungency are now considered
important quality parameters when creating a new pepper
variety (EGGINKetal., 2012). Aiming to expand agribusiness
pepper, the Brazilian pepper breeding program, coordinated
by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation through its
National Center of VegetablesResearch (Embrapa Vegetables),
takes into account not only good agronomic characteristics
such as productivity and multiple resistance to diseases, but
also characteristics of industrial interest. erefore, research
has been driven by the content of capsaicin (responsible for the
pungency) and by the prole of volatile compounds, responsible
for the aroma and avor, in order to obtain strains able to add
desirable characteristics to food preparations.
ere are very good studies available in the literature on
the volatile compounds of several pepper species. Sousaetal.
(2006) evaluated the volatile prole of red, yellow, and purple
varieties of Brazilian Capsicum chinensesp. peppers. The
GC-MS analysis allowed the tentative identification of 34
compounds, among which the most abundant were hexyl
ester of pentanoic acid, dimethylcyclohexanols, humulene,
and esters of butanoic acid. Pinoetal. (2007) and Pino, Sauri-
Duch and Marbot (2006) studied the volatile compounds of
Yucatan Habanero chilli pepper (Capsicum chinense Jack. cv.
Habanero); the major constituents were E-2-hexenal, hexyl-
3-methylbutanoate, Z-3-hexenyl-3-methylbutanoate, hexyl
pentanoate, 3,3-dimethylcyclohexanol, and hexadecanoic
acid. Orange and brown cultivars were considered better in
terms of their avor-relevant chemical composition than the
red cultivars.
Characterizing the volatile fractions of three varieties of
Brazilian chilli peppers (Capsicum) at two ripening stages of
maturity, BoguszJunioretal. (2012) identied 77 compounds,
mostly esters and sesquiterpenes, in the C. chinense murupi.
e fruit volatile fraction of 8 Capsicum annuum and two
Capsicum chinense accessions as well as 6 intra-specic and 2
inter-specic hybrids developed from crossings among them
were analyzed by Morenoetal. (2012). Samples of fruit esh and
placenta plus seeds were analyzed separately. Results suggested
that there are ample opportunities for improving the aroma of
Capsicum peppers by means of hybridization. However, there
is a lack of studies on the relationship between volatiles and
sensory proles.
Among the new varieties of Capsicum chinense peppers
developed by Embrapa Vegetable, CNPH 4080 and BRS Seriema
stand out. CNPH 4080 is a strain of ‘Cumari-do-Pará’. It has
triangular fruits that are 3cm long and 1cm wide, which turn
yellow when mature. It is very aromatic and spicy, with a degree
of pungency around a Scoville rating of 50,000 SHU, Scoville
heat units, corresponding to level 8 in the heat scale. ‘Cumari-
do-Pará’ is widely used as a canned product (IBURG, 2005;
LINGUANOTTONETO, 2004). e variety BRS Seriema,
developed from the CNPH 3773 genotype belongs to the varietal
group popularly known as “goat”. In addition to being very
aromatic, this cultivar has good uniformity and productivity
with small fruits suitable for processing as canned pepper. Figure 1. Flow diagram of peppers processing.

Ciênc. Tecnol. Aliment., Campinas, 33(Supl. 1): 102-108, fev. 2013
104
Volatile profile and sensory quality of new varieties of Capsicum chinense pepper
Flavor acceptance
Pickled peppers were processed with ricotta cheese (1:20).
Five grams of each preparation were given to the panelists
in 50mL white plastic cups coded with three-digit random
numbers; they were placed on a tray with a spoon and disposable
napkins. e samples were presented in a monadic and balanced
order (MacFIEet al., 1989) in dierent sessions. Plain milk
was served to eliminate the aertaste and reduce pungency.
e judges registered their impression of avor acceptance on
a nine-point hedonic scale ranging from ‘like extremely’ to
‘dislike extremely’. e data were submitted to ANOVA and the
Tukey test (α = 0.05) for comparison of means using the FIZZ
Calculations soware (version 2.3).
Aroma descriptors
Aroma descriptors were assessed by the Check-All-at-
Apply (CATA) method. Crushed peppers (1 g) were placed in
a tulip-shaped glass and covered with a watch glass. e judges
were asked to check all perceived odors from a list of pre-chosen
terms (Figure2). e actual list of terms was dened by trained
panels in previous olfactometric analyses. e data consisted
of the number of judges that rated each term for each sample.
Frequently listed descriptors were more relevant than those
less frequently listed. Data were analyzed by the multivariate
statistical test Correspondence Analysis using the XLSTAT
soware (Version 1.02).
3 Results and discussion
3.1 Volatile compounds
A total of 82 compounds were detected in the volatile
fraction of the Capsicum chinense peppers studied, from
which 64 were identied and reported in Table 1 showing
the peak areas and description obtained in an olfactometry
study (not published). e main chemical class was esters
10% and bleached (60 °C, 5 minutes). e brine was prepared
with white vinegar (5% acidity) and 20% of marine NaCl. e
peppers were placed in sterile glass jars and covered with brine.
e jars were closed with metal caps.
2.1 Volatile analyses
HS-SPME procedure
The volatiles were extracted by headspace solid phase
micro-extraction (HS-SPME) using conditions adapted from
Sousaetal. (2006) and BoguszJunioretal. (2011). Ten grams of
unfrozen fruits were placed in a 40mL vial with PTFE/silicone
septa without salt addition. DVB/CAR/PDMS 50/30bers
(Supelco, Bellefonte, CA, USA) were duly conditioned
according to the manufacturer’s instructions and exposed to the
sample’s headspace for 60 minutes at 45 °C, without previous
equilibration time.
GC-MS analysis and identication
Aer extraction, the ber was placed into the injector port
of the gas chromatograph, and the analytes were desorbed in the
splitless mode at 200 °C for 2.0 minutes. Aer this period, the
ber remained in the injector for 10 minutes for conditioning.
Volatile compounds were separated and identied in a gas
chromatograph Shimadzu GC-2010 (Kyoto, Japan) equipped
with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) Shimadzu QP-2010. A
DB-5MS column (J&W, 30 m × 0.25 mm id × 0.25 µm lm
thickness) was used for the separation. Helium was the carrier
gas at constant ow 1.5mL.min–1 (column pressure: 13 psi).
e starting oven temperature was 50°C, following a linear
programming up to 120 °C at a rate of 5 °C.min–1, and then the
temperature was raised to 180 °C at 2 °C.min–1.
e compounds were identied using a quadrupole mass
detector at an MS ionization voltage of 70 eV and 1scan s−1 MS
scan range by comparing the mass spectra with those provided by
the library of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST, Gaithersburg, MD, USA). The identification was
performed by comparing the retention indices (RI) calculated
from a homologous series of alkanes (C9-C21) with the order
of elution of the compounds for the same chromatographic
column, as reported in literature (NATIONAL..., 2012; ACREE;
ARN, 2012; PHEROBASE, 2012).
2.2 Sensory analysis
irty judges with pepper consumption frequency of at
least once a week were recruited according to the procedure
described by Meilgaard, Civille and Carr (1999) and Stone and
Sidel (2004). Before the test, the judges were asked to sign a
Statement of Informed Consent and answer a questionnaire
about pepper eating habits and frequency of consumption.
All tests were carried out in individual booths under
controlled lighting (white, uorescent) and temperature (24°C).
e booths were equipped with computer terminals for data
collection using FIZZ software (version 2.3). Sensory test
procedures were approved by the Research Ethics Committee
from the Ceara State University, under protocol number
11044529-5. Figure 2. Check-All-at-Apply (CATA) ballot.

Ciênc. Tecnol. Aliment., Campinas, 33(Supl. 1): 102-108, fev. 2013 105
Garruti et al.
Table 1. Volatile compounds identied in the three varieties of Capsicum chinense peppers.
Area (×106)
Peak KI Compound Biquinho Seriema CNPH 4080 Description¹
1 <1100 E-β-ocimene - 0.05 - green, oral
2 1101 3-methylbutyl 2-methylbutanoate - 0.08 - fruity
3 1108 3-methylbutyl 3-methylbutanoate 0.07 0.59 0.48 fruity
4 1112 hexyl 2-methylpropanoate 2.19 4.86 3.41 pepper, fruity
5 1142 pentyl 2-methylbutanoate - 0.14 - fruity
6 1145 z-3-hexenyl butanoate 0.15 - 0.09 oral
7 1148 pentyl 3-methylbutanoate 0.32 1.24 0.57 fruity
8 1152 hexyl butanoate 2.19 0.55 0.41 fruity
9 1200 hexyl 2-methylbutanoate 6.85 56.77 10.03 pepper, fruity
10 1211 hexyl 3-methylbutanoate 39.19 96.10 72.36 green, oral
11 1215 pentyl pentanoate 0.93 - - fruity
12 1222 α-citronellol 4.66 2.82 6.44 oral
13 1229 Z-3-hexenyl 2-methylbutanoate 1.24 4.76 0.47 sweet
14 1236 Z-3-hexenyl 3-methylbutanoate 4.94 35.22 9.98 green, oral
15 1244 hexyl pentanoate 5.34 55.91 12.40 fruity, green
16 1245 heptyl 2-methylpropanoate 1.38 - 2.75 pepper, pungency
17 1247 1-methyltridecyl pentanoate*- 12.25 - -
18 1287 hexyl 3-methyl-2-butenoate - - 0.26 -
19 1292 3,5-dimethylcyclohexane*- 16.37 - -
20 1304 heptyl 2-methylbutanoate 1.93 2.63 2.50 fruity
21 1308 octyl 2-methylpropanoate 4.51 4.03 1.93 sweet, oral
22 1311 octyl butanoate - 5.22 0.64 fruity, green
23 1315 2,9-dimethyl-5-decyne 16.38 12.52 11.42 -
24 1334 heptyl 3-methylbutanoate - 11.25 - pepper, pungency
25 1341 heptyl pentanoate 0.50 45.96 17.40 green, woody
26 1351 hexyl hexanoate 2.02 2.05 2.98 fruity
27 1354 2-cyclohexenone*- 1.76 0.71 sweet
28 1364 2-methyltridecane - 6.46 0.38 -
29 1368 α-ylangene - 0.87 0.06 fruity
30 1375 α-copaene - 0.63 0.16 woody, spice
31 1380 3,3-dimethylcyclohexanol 483.48 194.64 87.67 sweet, oral
32 1392 2,3-dimethylcyclohexanol - 3.71 1.46 pepper, pungency
33 1396 tetradecyl pivalate*- 22.40 6.72 -
34 1403 decyl pentanoate 28.83 36.67 14.33 -
35 1435 octyl 2-methylbutanoate 1.69 3.65 1.06 green, oral
36 1438 3-cyclopentyl-1-propanol*- 5.69 1.44 ether
37 1441 octyl 3-methylbutanoate 5.73 15.10 3.66 oral
38 1448 β-caryophyllene 2.02 60.01 8.63 woody, spice, clove
39 1450 α-himachalene 1.72 15.27 2.82 oral
40 1455 β-farnesene - 12.99 - woody, sweet
41 1464 12-methyl-oxa-cyclododecanone*- 2.50 - -
42 1467 2-methyltetradecane 1.17 30.99 3.18 oral
43 1480 alcane NI 28.37 149.50 18.05 pepper, pungency
44 1483 α-humulene 1.84 8.39 1.40 woody
45 1492 citronellyl 2-methylpropanoate 1.26 10.68 4.41 green, oral
46 1501 β-himachalene - 2.92 - oral
47 1504 Pentadecane - 3.10 - -
48 1571 Squalene 0.87 - - -
49 1579 citronellyl 2-methylbutanoate 1.12 13.27 2.47 green, oral
50 1583 citronellyl 3-methylbutanoate 5.62 40.88 16.72 green, oral
51 1600 2-bromo dodecane - 0.79 - sweet
52 1643 cyclododecanone* - 0.43 - pepper, pungency
1Description according to the literature (ACREE; ARN, 2012; PHEROBASE, 2012). *Tentatively identied.

Ciênc. Tecnol. Aliment., Campinas, 33(Supl. 1): 102-108, fev. 2013
106
Volatile profile and sensory quality of new varieties of Capsicum chinense pepper
citronellyl 2-methylpropanoate, citronellyl 2-methylbutanoate,
and citronellyl 3-methylbutanoate, contributors of green notes.
Compounds with sweet aromas were not abundant in this
variety.
In BRS-Seriema, high levels of hexyl 3-methylbutanoate
(green), hexyl 2-methylbutanoate (fruity, pepper), hexyl
pentanoate (fruity), heptyl pentanoate (green), β- caryophyllene
(woody, spicy), and citronellyl 3-methylbutanoate (green, oral)
were found. Its volatile prole had nine terpenoid compounds,
from which β-caryophyllene (woody, spice) and α-himachalene
(oral) were present in much greater amounts than the others,
and E-β-ocimene (green, floral), β-farnesene (sweet) and
β-himachalene (oral) were found only in this variety. Up to 40%
of the volatile compounds had sweet odor notes, 20% had green
and oral notes, and 15% had pepper aroma. Approximately
45% of minor compounds also showed sweet aroma.
3.2 Sensory analysis
All Capsicum chinense peppers showed good acceptability,
reaching mean hedonic rates around 7 which corresponds
to “like moderately” in the hedonic scale, with no statistical
dierence between means (p > 0.05) indicating that the three
varieties were well accepted by the judges, who showed no
preference for one over the others. However, the samples showed
dierences in the frequency distributions of the hedonic values
rated by the judges (Figure3). Biquinho samples received higher
frequency of “liked extremely” (9) and in the indierence
category (5 = neither like, nor dislike). Among the new varieties,
BRS Seriema showed distribution at a better acceptance region
of the hedonic scale, with mode 8 (“like very much”, 40%), while
CNPH 4080 showed mode 7 (“like moderately”, 46%).
Odor analyzes revealed dierences in the aroma descriptors
conrming the dierences in the prole of volatiles. Figure4
shows the main aroma descriptors used to describe the
C.chinense peppers. In the Correspondence Analysis graph, the
better dimensional representation of data explains 100% of the
total variance, and the rst axis discriminates the varieties BRS
(51%), followed by terpenes (17%), alkanes (13%), alcohols
(9%), cetones (7%), and fatty acids (3%). e predominance of
volatile esters is in agreement with the results found in other
varieties of C. chinense peppers by several authors, Sousaetal.
(2006), PINOet al. (2007), Rodríguez-Burruezoetal. (2010)
and BoguszJunioretal. (2012).
Table2 shows the number of compounds and the respective
total peak area corresponding to each chemical class. From
the 32 volatile compounds detected in Biquinho pepper, 22
(69%) were esters, which corresponded only to 18% of total
area, while two alcohols were responsible to 74% of the area. In
CNPH pepper esters were also the major class (24 compounds
out of 44), corresponding to 55% of compounds and 51% of
chromatogram area. The second major class was alcohols,
with 26% area. BRS Seriema had the richest volatile prole
with 55 identied compounds and the highest total peak area
counting (1022). Twenty-seven esters comprised 47% area,
while alkanes, alcohols, and terpenes comprised 22%, 20%, and
10%, respectively.
e volatile proles did not show very diverse qualitative
patterns; 26 compounds were common to all three samples,
and 13 other compounds were common to at least two samples.
However, some compounds varied greatly, quantitatively.
3,3-dimethylcyclohexanol, which usually presents sweet and
oral odors, was the major compound in all pepper varieties,
but it was found in much greater amount in Biquinho pepper.
On the other hand, hexyl 2-methylbutanoate, Z-3-hexenyl-2-
methyl butanoate and hexyl pentanoate, which also has sweet
and fruity aroma, were higher in BRS Seriema. e second
major compound of Biquinho was hexyl 3-methylbutanoate,
characterized by herbal notes. Peaks of the compounds decyl
pentanoate, 2,9-dimethyl-5-decyne, and a non-identied alkane
also showed relatively high area counting.
CNPH 4080 showed a qualitative volatile prole similar
to that of Biquinho, but most compounds were present
in higher amounts, such as hexyl 2-methylbutanoate and
heptyl 2-methylpropanoate, both with pepper aroma; hexyl
3–methylbutanoate, hexyl pentanoate, heptyl pentanoate,
Area (×106)
Peak KI Compound Biquinho Seriema CNPH 4080 Description¹
53 1646 1,1,2-trimethylcycloundecane - 0.24 - sweet, oral
54 1679 E-2-tetradecenol - 0.39 - pepper, pungency
55 1700 2-methylnonadecane - 0.27 - sweet, oral
56 1706 hexyl decanoate - 0.76 - -
57 1725 palmitoleic acid - 0.95 10.38 -
58 1753 1-hexadecyne* - 0.32 - sweet, oral
59 1866 exo-isocamphanone* 4.74 3.59 4.27 sweet, oral
60 1873 nonadecyl acetate - 0.37 - spice
61 1896 1-tetradecyl acetate - - 1.28 -
62 1937 methyl palmitate - - 1.32 -
63 1969 palmitic acid - - 15.18 -
64 2056 oleyl alcohol - - 6.14 -
1Description according to the literature (ACREE; ARN, 2012; PHEROBASE, 2012). *Tentatively identied.
Table 1. Continued...

Ciênc. Tecnol. Aliment., Campinas, 33(Supl. 1): 102-108, fev. 2013 107
Garruti et al.
Seriema and CNPH 4080 from the Biquinho variety. e fact
that all three samples are in dierent quadrants shows that each
one has specic aromatic characteristics.
Analyzing the aroma characteristics in Figure4, we can
see a group of descriptors in the center of the graph, indicating
that these descriptors are common to the three pepper varieties,
and the dierentiation among them is due the most isolated
descriptive terms. It can also be observed that BRS Seriema was
characterized by a sweet aroma; CNPH 4080 was associated with
green (herbal) and pepper aromas, while Biquinho aroma was
less intense for most descriptors.
4 Conclusions
e three Capsicum chinense peppers did not dier in
terms of avor acceptance means (p > 0.05), but they showed
dierences in the aroma descriptors conrming the dierences
in the volatile prole. BRS Seriema was characterized by a
sweet aroma, while CNPH 4080 was more associated to green
(herbal) and pepper notes. e aroma of Biquinho pepper was
less intense for most descriptors. e new varieties developed
by Embrapa showed to be more aromatic than the commercial
Capsicum variety, with distinc aromas, but all samples were well
accepted by the judges.
Acknowledgements
e authors are grateful for the nancial support provided
by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientíco
e Tecnológico) and to Embrapa Vegetables for supplying the
fruits and for technical assistance.
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