EFFECT OF PACKAGING MATERIALS, STORAGE TEMPERATURES, AND STORAGE DURATIONS ON PHYSICO-CHEMICAL QUALITIES OF RED-HOT PEPPER (Capsicum annum L.) POWDER

Abstract

Red hot pepper is the most widely grown vegetable in Ethiopia, valued for its nutritional, medicinal, and economic importance. This study aimed to determine how red pepper powder's physicochemical properties are affected by packaging materials, storage temperatures, and storage duration. Aluminum poaches (ALP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and black-coloured low-density polyethylene bags (BLDPE) were the packaging materials used for storage. Samples were stored for ten months at ambient and refrigerated condition and moisture content (MC), water activity (a_w), Nonenzymatic browning index (NEBI) total carotenoids content (TCC), extractable color (ASTA value), pungency index (PI), oleoresin content (OC), and total antioxidant capacities (TAOC) of the samples were measured at two-month interval. Under refrigerated conditions, the MC increased from 10.24 -11.71%, 10.90-12.34%, 11.12-13.03%, and 11.15-12.59%, while at ambient temperature it increased from 10.19 -11.25%, 10.49-12.18%, 11.01-12.83%, and 10.88-12.88% at ambient conditions for ALP, HDPE, LDPE, and BLDPE bags, respectively. Similarly, a_w increased from 0.26-0.31, 0.26-0.35, 0.26-0.53, and 0.26-0.5 under refrigerated conditions, and from 0.26-0.35, 0.26-0.36, 0.26-0.5, and 0.26-0.44 at ambient temperature. NEBI also increased from 0.15-0.18, 0.15-0.19, 0.15-0.24, and 0.15-0.23 abs/g under refrigerated storage, and from 0.15-0.34, 0.15-0.35, 0.15-43, and 0.15-0.38 at ambient temperature. On the other hand, the PI reduced by 60.30%, 43.28%, 50.11%, and 40.11% in LDPE, HDPE BLDPE, and ALP, respectively under refrigerated storage, while at ambient temperature, it reduced by 65.2, 49.11, 55.01, and 45.24% in LDPE, HDPE BLDPE, and ALP in the same storage materials. Similarly, the extractable color lost at the end of the storage month was 3.33%, 18.29%, 25.56%, and 38.40% in ALP, HDPE, LDPE, and BLDPE packaging materials under refrigerated storage conditions, compared to 14.31%, 21.19%, 32.86%, and 50.15% at ambient temperature. Similarly, the percentage of TCC lost at the end of the storage period was also 8.41%, 14.19%, 21.23% and 30.68% in ALP, HDPE, LDPE and BLDPE under refrigerated storage condition, and 10.91%, 17.65%, 25.01% and 52.02%, respectively in the same packaging materials at ambient temperature. The percentage of TAOC lost was also 46.76%, 56.40%, 66.22%, and 61.52%, respectively, under refrigerated conditions, and 57.29%, 67.45%, 68.50 and 66.36%, at ambient temperature. Oleoresin content decreased over the storage durations in all packaging materials under both storage conditions. The loss in Oleoresin content at the end of the storage period was 44.34%, 37.82%, 37.25%, and 20.77% at ambient temperature and 32.27%, 27.25%, 28.16%, and 13.42% loss under refrigerated conditions in LDPE, HDPE, BLDPE, and ALP, respectively. In conclusion, samples stored in ALP maintained high functional qualities in both storage conditions at the end of the storage period.