Carotenoid Content and Vitamin A Activity of Some Common Cultivars of Mexican Peppers (Caps&m annuum) as Determined by HPLC

Alpha‐, beta, and gamma‐carotenes, β‐cryptoxanthin and total vitamin A activity in five different immature cultivars of peppers (Cupsicum annuum), commonly consumed in the Northwest region of Mexico, were determinated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among the cultivars studied, “Poblano” pepper had the highest provitamin A (111.4±28.2 μg Retinol Equivalents (RE)/100g) followed by “Serrano” (86.7 ±13.0), “Jalapeño” (67.0±8.7), “Verde” (30.2±3.0), and “Caribe” (2.2 ± 0.9). In general, these values were higher than the vitamin A of peppers reported by the Mexican food composition tables and lower than the data presented in the INCAP/ICNND food composition tables for USC in Latin America.