1 3 Eur Food Res Technol (2015) 240:273–283 DOI 10.1007/s00217-014-2325-6 ORIGINAL PAPER Capsaicinoids, flavonoids, tocopherols, antioxidant capacity and color attributes in 23 native Peruvian chili peppers (Capsicum spp.) grown in three different locations Sven W. Meckelmann · Dieter W. Riegel · Maarten van Zonneveld · Llermé Ríos · Karla Peña · Erika Mueller-Seitz · Michael Petz Received: 13 May 2014 / Revised: 13 August 2014 / Accepted: 1 September 2014 / Published online: 12 September 2014 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 The calculation of an environmental impact factor allowed differing between chili peppers provided consistent phyto- chemical levels widely independent of the location or those that provided exceptional high levels for a specific trait at one of the locations. Keywords Capsicum · Chili pepper powder · Capsaicin · Quercetin · Environmental impact Introduction With regard to the influence of the environment on the con- tent of the various phytochemicals in chili peppers, only limited information is available. Most studies focus on the effect on the content of capsaicinoids and carotenoids [1–6]. The biosynthesis of capsaicinoids is controlled by the locus Pun1 and five quantitative trait loci (QTL) and highly influenced by the environment (e.g., temperature or drought stress) [7–9]. Interactions between genotype and environment were also observed and indicate that different cultivars respond differently to changes in the environment [3]. The environmental impact on carotenoid and flavonoid (quercetin and luteolin) content and pattern was described by Lee et al. [4]. They observed a strong influence of the intensity of solar radiation (MJ/m 2 ) on the biosynthe- sis of carotenoids. In another study, Keyhaninejad et al. [6] reported a lower content of pericarp carotenoids with increased light intensity. The biosynthesis of flavonoids follows the phenylpropanoid pathway, and accordingly, a strong impact of the environment on the production can be expected. Increased stress levels caused by pathogens, nutrient deficiency or UV radiation are factors that enhance the production of flavonoids [10]. This hypothesis was con- firmed by Butcher et al. [5] for various types of Habanero Abstract Twenty-three Peruvian chili pepper accessions, belonging to the four domesticated species Capsicum ann- uum, Capsicum baccatum, Capsicum chinense and Capsi- cum frutescens, were grown under different meteorological conditions and agricultural practices in three Peruvian loca- tions (Chiclayo, Piura and Pucallpa). Results are reported for powdered oven-dried bulk samples of each accession and each location by important quality attributes (capsai- cinoids, flavonoids, tocopherols, antioxidant capacity, total polyphenols, extractable color (ASTA 20.1) and surface color). Multivariate data evaluation by principle compo- nent analysis and partial least square discriminant analysis did not show any underlying structure. Moreover, a high influence of the environment on the analyzed traits could be demonstrated by analysis of variance. Significant differ- ences (p ≤ 0.001) between the accessions and all locations were observed for all traits. Besides, significant interaction between accessions and locations indicated that the acces- sions responded differently to changes of the locations. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00217-014-2325-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. S. W. Meckelmann (*) · D. W. Riegel · E. Mueller-Seitz · M. Petz Department of Food Chemistry, University of Wuppertal, Gaussstrasse 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany e-mail: meckelmann@uni-wuppertal.de M. van Zonneveld Bioversity International, Regional Office for the Americas, c/o CATIE 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica L. Ríos · K. Peña Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA), Av. La Molina # 1981, Lima, Peru