The aim of this work was to investigate the changes of the content of polyphenols in fruits of Capsicum chinense Jacq. at different harvest times and their correlation with the antioxidant activity. Habanero pepper plants grown in black soil (Mayan name: Box lu’um) and harvested at 160, 209, 223, 237 and 252 post-transplant days (PTD) were analyzed. The results indicated that subsequent harvesting cycles decreased the content of total polyphenols, catechin, chlorogenic acid and ellagic acid, while the content of gallic and protocatechuic acid increased. The antioxidant activity determined by DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging and ABTS (2,2′-azino-di-3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonic acid) assay decreased through the harvest days. Linear correlation analysis between total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity in peppers resulted in a correlation of r²_DPPH = 0.8999 and r²_ABTS = 0.8922. Additionally, a good correlation of the antioxidant activity was found with catechin (r²_DPPH = 0.8661 and r²_ABTS = 0.8989), chlorogenic acid (r²_DPPH = 0.8794 and r²_ABTS = 0.8934) and ellagic acid (r²_DPPH = 0.8979 and r²_ABTS = 0.9474), indicating that these polyphenols highly contributed to the antioxidant activity in Habanero peppers. This work contributes to understanding the changes that take place during the development of Capsicum chinense, indicating that fruit harvested at earlier PTD showed the highest concentrations of total polyphenols and antioxidant activity, obtaining the best results at 160 PTD.

中文翻译：

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不同收获期辣椒果实中多酚的含量及其与抗氧化活性的关系

这项工作的目的是调查辣椒辣椒果实中多酚含量的变化。在不同的收获时间，以及它们与抗氧化活性的关系。黑土壤中种植的哈瓦那人辣椒植物（玛雅名称：Box lu'um），并在移植后的第160、209、223、237和252天（PTD）进行分析。结果表明，随后的收获周期降低了总多酚，儿茶素，绿原酸和鞣花酸的含量，而没食子酸和原儿茶酸的含量却增加了。在收获期，通过DPPH（2,2-二苯基-1-吡啶并肼基）清除和ABTS（2,2'-叠氮基-二-3-乙基苯并噻唑啉磺酸）测定的抗氧化活性下降。辣椒中总多酚含量与抗氧化活性之间的线性相关性分析得出r ² _DPPH = 0.8999和r ² _ABTS = 0.8922的相关性。此外，发现抗氧化剂活性与儿茶素（r ²_DPPH = 0.8661和r ² _ABTS = 0.8989），绿原酸（r ² _DPPH = 0.8794和r ² _ABTS = 0.8934）和鞣花酸（r ² _DPPH = 0.8979和r ² _ABTS = 0.9474），表明这些多酚对哈瓦那人辣椒中的抗氧化活性。这项工作有助于理解辣椒辣椒发育过程中发生的变化，表明在PTD较早收获的果实显示出最高的总多酚浓度和抗氧化活性，在160 PTD时获得了最佳结果。