Integrated analysis of mineral composition and antimicrobial properties of Slovak grown chili pepper varieties

This study investigates the relationship between mineral composition and antimicrobial activity in ten Capsicum spp. varieties cultivated in Slovakia under uniform foil-tunnel conditions. Fruits collected from plants of each variety were pooled, homogenized, and analyzed as composite samples used for variety-level comparative analysis. Mineral concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and antimicrobial activity was evaluated against four clinically relevant microorganisms using the disk diffusion method. Significant variability among varieties was observed in the accumulation of essential minerals. Carolina Reaper exhibited the highest concentrations of K, Mg, and Zn, whereas Orange Coral showed the highest Fe, Mn, and Se. No significant differences among varieties were observed for Se concentrations ( P > 0.05). Trace (Ba and Sr) and potentially toxic (Al, Cd, and Sb) elements were present at concentrations within internationally accepted safety limits, and As and Pb were undetectable. Additionally, all varieties demonstrated antimicrobial activity, with the strongest inhibition observed against Salmonella enterica . Correlation analyses indicated potential associations between selected elemental concentrations and antimicrobial responses among the analyzed varieties; however, these associations did not remain significant after multiple-testing correction and should therefore be interpreted as exploratory. Overall, this study provides an integrated assessment of mineral composition and antimicrobial properties among Slovak-grown Capsicum varieties and highlights potential relationships between elemental variability and biological activity that require further investigation.