Enriquecimiento del aceite comestible por compuestos fenólicos y antioxidantes de chile piquín (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum)

Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum presents local adaptations to different anthropocentric and ecological dynamics. Therefore, expanding its food uses based on its antioxidant potential will contribute to knowledge about ways to strengthen value chains, enhance their use and encourage the consumption of local wild edible plants. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of commercial edible safflower oil supplemented with piquin chili by determining the content of phenolic compounds and by assays of free radical scavenging in ABTS+ and DPPH·. The evaluation included: 1) the piquin chili sample through two extraction solvents and 2) the supplemented and unsupplemented oil at 0 d, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d and 28 d after preparation (DPP). The piquin chili presented high antioxidant values. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the aqueous extract surpassed the hydroalcoholic extract. The factorial ANOVA showed significant differences in the three antioxidant parameters evaluated. These dissimilarities were associated with supplementation, time (DPP) and the combination of supplementation and DPP. Safflower oil supplementation with C. annuum var. glabriusculum enriched 66 % more its antioxidant value. The comparison of means showed significant differences in the combination of treatments and DPP. The combination of supplemented oil and DPP showed variability in total polyphenol data and ability against ABTS +. An inverse relationship was observed between DPP and total phenolic compounds, and capacity against ABTS +, contrary to the test for DPPH·. The results obtained validate the argument that the addition of piquin chili increases the biofunctionality of safflower oil and can be an alternative source of natural antioxidants.