In Vitro Inhibitory Potential Against Key Enzymes Relevant for Hyperglycemia and Hypertension of Red Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Including Pericarp, Placenta, and Stalk

Abstract

Extracts from the pericarp, placenta and stalk of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L) were investigated to determine their antioxidant and in vitro inhibitory potential against key enzymes relevant for hyperglycemia and hypertension. We examined the total phenolic and capsaicin content in red pepper extract. Anti-hyperglycemia relevant in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity correlated strongly to the antioxidant activity measured by the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method. The high phenolic and capsaicin content-containing red pepper stalk was found to have strong α-amylase and strong α-glucosidase inhibitory effects. The pericarp and placenta had high angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and also had good α-glucosidase inhibitory profiles. Inhibition of these enzymes provides a strong biochemical basis for the management of type 2 diabetes by controlling glucose absorption and reducing associated hypertension, respectively. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe inhibitory effect on key enzymes relevant for hyperglycemia (α-glucosidase and α-amylase) and hypertension (ACE) of the red pepper pericarp, placenta and stalk was investigated in this study. The in vitro inhibitory activities of α-amylase, α-glucosidase and ACE provide a strong biochemical rationale for further in vivo studies for type 2 diabetes through the control of glucose absorption and for the reduction of the associated hypertension. Furthermore, red pepper stalk, which has always been considered as an agricultural waste product, was an effective inhibitor of α-glucosidase and α-amylase. This study shows the potential of this agricultural waste product as a food additive and therapeutic agent for clinical applications.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Phenolic and Flavonoid Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Some Egyptian Sweet and Chilli Pepper

“…Aliakbarlu et al [32] found that TPC in red pepper was 34 mg GAE/g DW. Chen and Kang [33] observed that TPC of red peppers in pericarp, placenta and stalk were ranged from 43.3 to 91.9 mg GAE/g DW. Finally, Nascimento et al [34] revealed that total phenolic contents of Capsicum frutescens whole fruits were 4.9 and 110.6 mg GAE/g DW in hexane and acetonitrile extracts, respectively.…”

Identification of QTLs Controlling α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity in Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Leaf and Fruit Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing Analysis

“…Chili pepper is one of the vegetable crops having α-glucosidase inhibitory effects [ 24 ]. Previous biochemical analyses showed that pepper leaf and fruit extracts have strong AGI activity [ 25 , 26 ]. However, no reports have examined the inheritance and genetic analysis of AGI activity in pepper.…”

“…Several pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) extracts are reported to have high inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase activity [ 24 ]. An investigation on α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (AGI activity) of various pepper extracts from pericarp, placenta, and stalk showed high inhibitory activity in extracts from pericarp and placenta [ 25 ]. In addition, pepper leaf extracts showed in vitro inhibitory activity of both α-glucosidase and α-amylase [ 26 ].…”

Evaluation of In vitro Antidiabetic Potential of Thymus schimperi R. and Thymus vulgaris L.

“…Inhibitory activities of the extracts against α-glucosidase were negatively proportional to both TPC and TFC, and the correlation coefficients were R 2 = −0.22, −0.24, at p > 0.05, respectively. Several studies have found a direct correlation between the amount of phenolic compounds in plant extracts and their capacity to inhibit α-enzymes (Patrick et al, 2005;Chen & Kang, 2014). However, not always plant extracts with the high phenolic content have been demonstrated to exert the inhibitory activity on α-amylase (Hairong and Baojun, 2014), which points out the importance of the nature of the different molecules and the interactions among them.…”