Pigment changes in capsicum cultivars during maturation and ripening

Summary The quantitative distribution of chlorophylls and carotenoids in five capsicum cultivars at four stages of maturation and ripening has been established using chromatographic, spectroscopic and chemical methods. From immature, mature, half‐ripened and fully‐ripened capsicum fruits, up to twelve, twelve, twenty‐nine and twenty‐six individual pigments respectively were isolated and most identified. The pigment composition results were consistent with a proposed pathway of synthesis of the red keto‐carotenoids, capsanthin and capsorubin. Significant differences were found in pigment concentrations among the cultivars at all stages of maturation and ripening, even though the cultivars showed the same visual colour. Lycopene and chlorophyll pigments other than chlorophylls a and b were not found in any cultivar at any stage of maturation or ripening.