Antioxidants in Hot Pepper: Variation Among Accessions

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pepper (Capsicum spp.) germplasm collection contains several thousand members or accessions. Many of these species and cultivars have not been analyzed for their concentrations of ascorbic acid, capsaicin, and total phenolic compounds, which are important antioxidants having a number of benefits for human health. The objective of this investigation was to select candidate accessions of hot pepper having high concentrations of ascorbic acid, capsaicin, free sugars, and total phenols for use as parents in breeding for these compounds. Seventeen accessions of pepper from the core Capsicum germplasm collection (four accessions of Capsicum chinense; five accessions of C. baccatum; six accessions of C. annuum; and two of C. frutescens) were field grown and their mature fruits were analyzed for their antioxidant composition. Concentrations of these compounds tended to be higher in C. chinense and C. baccatum, than in C. annuum and C. frutescens. Across all accessions the concentration of total phenols was correlated with ascorbic acid (r = 0.97) and free sugars (r = 0.80). Concentrations of total phenols (1.4, 1.3, and 1.3 mg g-1 fruit) and ascorbic acid (1.6, 1.2, and 1.3 mg g-1 fruit) were significantly greater in PI-633757, PI-387833, and PI-633754, respectively, compared to other accessions analyzed. Total capsaicinoids concentrations were greatest (1.3 mg g-1 fruit) in PI-438622 and lowest (0.002 mg g-1 fruit) in Grif-9320. The great variability within and among Capsicum species for these phytochemicals suggests that these selected accessions may be useful as parents in hybridization programs to produce fruits with value-added traits.

Anti‑inflammatory effects of water extract from bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum) leaves in vitro

“…They also have a significant role in traditional medicine (15,16). It has been reported that the red pepper fruit of Capsicum baccatum shows anti-inflammatory activity via nitric oxide scavenging activity (17). These findings indicate that the bell pepper has a potential immunosuppressive function through its effects on cells.…”

Dietary red chilli (Capsicum frutescens L.) is insulinotropic rather than hypoglycemic in type 2 diabetes model of rats

“…The major active ingredients of RC are pungent capsaicinoids (capsaicin, dihydrocapsaincin), antioxidant vitamins (ascorbic acid, vitamin E), carotenoids (β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthine) and several organic acids and minerals (Antonious et al, 2006;Conforti et al, 2007), which are found to be significantly higher in RC compared with the green chilli of same species (Martinez et al, 2007;Conforti et al, 2007). Capsaicin, the primary pungent principle present in chillies, has been found to be effective in relieving diabetic and common neuropathic pains (Head, 2006;Ogata et al, 1996;Rashid et al, 2003), prevents adipocyte differentiation (Hwang et al, 2005), improves glucose tolerance and glucose stimulated insulin response (Gram et al, 2000a(Gram et al, , 2000b and reduces diabetic hyperglycemia (Tolan et al, 2004).…”

Degradación de carotenoides y capsaicina en el complejo de inclusión molecular de oleorresina de chile habanero (Capsicum chinense) con β-ciclodextrina

“…), se cultivan también como una fuente de nutrientes como carbohidratos, azúcares, calcio, magnesio, β-caroteno, ácido ascórbico, tocoferoles, las vitaminas A, C y E, y numerosos compuestos bioactivos no nutritivos como carotenoides y capsaicinoides, los cuales presentan actividad antioxidante importante (Antonious, Kochhar, Jarret, & Snyder, 2006;Singh et al, 2009;Topuz & Ozdemir, 2007).…”