On-line HPLC-ABTS•+ evaluation and HPLC-MSn identification of bioactive compounds in hot pepper peel residues

In this study, bioactive compounds were extracted with aqueous ethanol from hot pepper peel residues, and the crude extract was divided into four fractions with ethyl ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol in turn. The total phenolics (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) in the extract were analyzed, and the n-butanol fraction contained the highest TP and TF content, which was 13.45 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and 3.39 mg rutin equivalents/g, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated by radical [2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl] scavenging assays. The results of the correlation analysis showed that the antioxidant activity was well correlated with the content of TP and TF (R2 > 0.890). The antioxidant activity of individual antioxidant compound in the extract was evaluated using on-line HPLC-ABTS•+ assay, and seven antioxidant compounds were identified using HPLC-DAD-MSn analyses. The main antioxidants identified were naringenin-7-glucoside, procyanidin dimer type B, quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside dimer, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside and caffeic acid glycoside dimer. The results showed that hot pepper peel residues contained a certain amount of antioxidant compounds and had a potential application in food products.