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.