Biochemical descriptors: importance of the genetic divergence study in peppers

ABSTRACT The genetic diversity of pepper genotypes is usually evaluated based on morphological and molecular descriptors. However, studies using biochemical descriptors of peppers are still incipient. Thus, the objective of this study was identify biochemical descriptors of Capsicum spp. with antioxidant action, most responsive to the selection of superior genotypes, and evaluate the correlation between concentrations of the parameters using principal components analysis. The experiment was conducted in the city of Cáceres, southwest Mato Grosso, Brazil. Seventy-eight pepper accessions from the Active Germplasm Bank of UNEMAT were planted in randomized block design. The harvested fruits were immersed in liquid nitrogen for two minutes, and the following biochemical analyses were performed: titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and antioxidant activity. Biochemical descriptors that best estimated the genetic variability of the accessions were flavonoids, total phenols, chlorophyll a, and ascorbic acid. Chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b were the compounds that showed the highest degree of correlation. Except chlorophyll a with ascorbic acid, all other vectors showed correlation ranging from moderate to strong.