Effect of blanching treatments on antioxidant activity of frozen green capsicum (Capsicum annuum L. var bell pepper) using radical scavenging activity (DPPH) assay
Blanching treatments are needed to deactivate enzymes in frozen vegetables. Antioxidant activity using DPPH radical scavenging activity assay were evaluated in steaming, boiling water, and microwave blanching at different temperature, time and microwave power level on frozen green capsicum. Green capsicum was chosen for frozen treatment compared to other capsicum with different maturity index because of the firm texture. The objective of this study was to compare the antioxidant activity of frozen green capsicum between conventional and Oxi Count Kit(r) assay for DPPH radical scavenging activity. Results showed frozen green capsicum blanched using microwave at high level/90 seconds (sample J) contained higher level of DPPH in both conventional method and Oxi Count Kit(r) compared to other treatments. However, there were no significant differences between sample J and fresh sample (sample A) Overall, the sequences from highest to lowest in blanching treatments for both DPPH conventional method, and DPPH Oxi C.