The Changes of Metabolites in Ground Chili Stored at a Fishpond and a Refrigerator

The use of fishponds as a storage container for fresh ground chilies has been carried out. Changes in metabolites in ground chili were observed during storage in fishponds and compared with refrigerator. This study was done to determine whether the preservation mechanism in fishponds and refrigerators is the same. Fresh chili samples were stored in plastic containers and then placed in fishponds and refrigerators. The temperature of fishpond storage was at ± 26ºC while that of refrigerator was at ± 8ºC. Total microbes, sugars, capsaicinoids, and amino acids in the stored ground chilies were analyzed. The analysis was performed periodically at 0, 1, 2, and 4 weeks. It was known that the quality of ground chili that was stored for one month in a fishpond and ground chili were the same. In addition, the profile of changes in total microbial growth, sugar, and capsaicinoids in ground chilies during storage had the same pattern between storage in fishponds and refrigerators. Meanwhile, the amino acid profile looks different between fishponds and refrigerators. From this research, it can be concluded that preserving ground chilies stored in fishponds also seem to inhibit enzymatic activity, but without decreasing the metabolic activity due to the temperature. This finding needs further clarification to develop conservation techniques using this environmentally friendly fishpond.