Assessing the functional quality of different commercial and traditional red-hot pepper paste ‘harissa’ commonly consumed in Tunisia

Abstract Pepper is one of the most economically important vegetable crops grown and consumed in Tunisia. Interest in assessing bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity and potential health benefits in pepper and pepper-based products is increasing. There is limited information undertaking the chemical properties and quality of commercial red-hot pepper pastes (harissa) in Tunisia compared to traditionally prepared varieties. The variability in ascorbic acid, phenolic, and carotenoid contents and antioxidant activity of ten red-hot pepper pastes covering almost the commercial types available in Tunisian hypermarkets were determined and compared with traditionally processed harissa. Ascorbic acid, phenolic, and carotenoid contents and antioxidant activity varied significantly between different red-hot pepper paste. Traditional home-processed harissa outperformed different commercial pepper pastes in terms of bioactive compounds. Ascorbic acid varied from 57.33 to 210.41 mg/100 g FW. The levels of phenolics in different studied red-hot pepper paste varied from 207.34 to 317.24 mg GAE/100 g FW. Significant differences were found also in carotenoids content between different red-hot pepper pastes (coded as CH1-10) ranging from 284.78 mg β-CaE/kg FW in ‘CH2’ to 761.69 mg β-CaE/kg FW in ‘CH8’. ‘CH9’ showed the highest antioxidant activity attaining 2,812 μmol TE/100 g FW. Hydrophilic antioxidant activity was negatively and significantly correlated with ascorbic acid content ( r = −0.700; P < 0.05) and carotenoids content ( r = −0.674; P < 0.05). This study highlighted the variability in different commercial hot pepper pastes consumed in Tunisia, with respect to quality attributes, and showed the importance of optimising a traditional-like process to create new labels and quality suitable for new consumer demands.