Abstract: This study described the capsaicin degradation of two hot poper cultivars during fruit ripening. The capsaicin contents both in the plenta and in the pericap increased continuously tal reached a peak after 41~49 days from anthesis.The change of peroxidase activity in the plenta and in the pericap of NongDa 21 was different from that of NongD8 22.The peroxidase activity of NonDa 21 reached a peak at green mature stage and then declined. Then it increased a little at the red mature stage again-Whereas for NongDa 22, the peroxidase activity reached a peak at red mature stage. There was a reverse correlation during 41~57 days after anthesis between peroxidese activity and capsaicin content-Peroxidase activity in the plenta was lower than that in the pericap whereas the change of capsaicin content was on the contrary.These results indicated that peroxidase was probably involved in the degradation of capsaicin during fruits ripening.

Key words: Capsicum annuum L. Capsaicin Peroxidase