Comparative Quantitative Study on Phytochemical Contents and Antioxidant Activities of Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum frutescens L

Plant diversity and ethnobotanical importance of home gardens in Ghana's middle belt: a cross-sectional survey of the Sunyani municipality

BACKGROUND

Home gardens are a species-rich socioecological system with a diverse range of cultivated and naturally occurring plants with the potential to make contributions to address sustainable food, biodiversity and climate crisis. However, there is a dearth of information on the socio-demographic profile of home gardeners and the importance of home gardens to ethnobotany, food security and biodiversity. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the socio-demographic profile of home gardeners in the Sunyani municipality as a case in point for the middle belt of Ghana and to evaluate the diversity of plants in home gardens and their ethnobotanical importance.

METHODS

A total of 12 suburbs were selected from three subzones in the Sunyani municipality. In each suburb, 25% of households were randomly selected and if they had a home garden, one adult in the house was interviewed. A list of all plants in the home garden and their uses was obtained from respondents. A Chi-square test was used to assess the distribution of home gardeners among various socio-demographic categories, and binomial logistic regression was employed to determine links between socio-demography and home garden attributes. The ethnobotany R package was used to evaluate the ethnobotanical importance of plants in home gardens.

RESULTS

A total of 186 respondents were recruited for this study, 79 being females and 107 males. A total of 79 plant species were also identified belonging to 70 genera and 40 families. Trees were the most common plant life form in home gardens, followed by shrubs, herbs, vines, grasses and lianas. Ethnobotanical indices revealed the most important plants in home gardens to be staples, food supplements and medicinal plants. These were Musa paradisiaca, Caripa pabaya, Xanthosoma sagittifolium, Manihot utilisima and Mangifera indica, Moringa oleifera, Citrus sinensis, Capsicum frutescens, Taraxacum officinale, Solanum aethiopicum, Cocos nucifera, Solanum torvum, Persea americana, Dioscorea alata and Elaeis guineensis.

CONCLUSION

Plants used as staples, food supplements and medicinal purposes emerged as the most culturally relevant scoring high on all ethnobotanical indices. Home gardens present an opportunity to address food security and nutrition needs of households and communities.

Untargeted Phytochemical Profiling, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activities of a Tunisian Capsicum annuum Cultivar

Peppers are among the spices possessing a wide plethora of biological properties due to their excellent supply of health-related metabolites. Capsicum annuum L. (Solanaceae) is cultivated throughout Tunisia, and there is a shortage of information on the identification of the secondary metabolites in the seeds of this species as well as on their biological activities. In the present work, we intended to undertake a chemical characterization of the bioactive compounds from the hydro-methanolic seed extract of C. annuum as well as an evaluation of its broad spectrum of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The chemical profile was evaluated by RP-HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS, whereas the total phenol and flavonoid content, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities were determined in in vitro assays. In this work, 45 compounds belonging to various phytochemical classes, such as organic acids (2), phenolic compounds (4 phenolic acids and 5 flavonoids), capsaicinoids (3), capsianosides (5), fatty acids (13), amino acids (1), sphingolipids (10), and steroids (2) were identified in the hydro-methanolic seed extract of C. annuum. The phenolic and flavonoid content (193.7 mg GAE/g DW and 25.1 mg QE/g DW, respectively) of the C. annuum extract correlated with the high antiradical activity (IC50 = 45.0 µg/mL), reducing power (EC50 = 61.3 µg/mL) and chelating power (IC50 = 79.0 µg/mL) activities. The hydro-methanolic seed extract showed an important antimicrobial activity against seven bacterial and four fungal strains. In fact, the inhibition zones (IZs) for bacteria ranged from 9.00 ± 1.00 mm to 12.00 ± 0.00 mm; for fungi, the IZs ranged from 12.66 ± 0.57 mm to 13.66 ± 0.57 mm. The minimal inhibition concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration values showed that the extract was more effective against fungi than bacteria.

Antioxidant potential and factors influencing the content of antioxidant compounds of pepper: A review with current knowledge

The use of natural food items as antioxidants has gained increasing popularity and attention in recent times supported by scientific studies validating the antioxidant properties of natural food items. Peppers (Capsicum spp.) are also important sources of antioxidants and several studies published during the last few decades identified and quantified various groups of phytochemicals with antioxidant capacities as well as indicated the influence of several pre- and postharvest factors on the antioxidant capacity of pepper. Therefore, this review summarizes the research findings on the antioxidant activity of pepper published to date and discusses their potential health benefits as well as the factors influencing the antioxidant activity in pepper. The major antioxidant compounds in pepper include capsaicinoids, capsinoids, vitamins, carotenoids, phenols, and flavonoids, and these antioxidants potentially modulate oxidative stress related to aging and diseases by targeting reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, lipid peroxidation products, as well as genes for transcription factors that regulate antioxidant response elements genes. The review also provides a systematic understanding of the factors that maintain or improve the antioxidant capacity of peppers and the application of these strategies offers options to pepper growers and spices industries for maximizing the antioxidant activity of peppers and their health benefits to consumers. In addition, the efficacy of pepper antioxidants, safety aspects, and formulations of novel products with pepper antioxidants have also been covered with future perspectives on potential innovative uses of pepper antioxidants in the future.

Critical Review on Nutritional, Bioactive, and Medicinal Potential of Spices and Herbs and Their Application in Food Fortification and Nanotechnology

Medicinal or herbal spices are grown in tropical moist evergreen forestland, surrounding most of the tropical and subtropical regions of Eastern Himalayas in India (Sikkim, Darjeeling regions), Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, a few Central Asian countries, Middle East, USA, Europe, South East Asia, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. According to the cultivation region surrounded, economic value, and vogue, these spices can be classified into major, minor, and colored tropical spices. In total, 24 tropical spices and herbs (cardamom, black jeera, fennel, poppy, coriander, fenugreek, bay leaves, clove, chili, cassia bark, black pepper, nutmeg, black mustard, turmeric, saffron, star anise, onion, dill, asafoetida, celery, allspice, kokum, greater galangal, and sweet flag) are described in this review. These spices show many pharmacological activities like anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, central nervous system, and antioxidant activities. Numerous bioactive compounds are present in these selected spices, such as 1,8-cineole, monoterpene hydrocarbons, γ-terpinene, cuminaldehyde, trans-anethole, fenchone, estragole, benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, piperine, linalool, malabaricone C, safrole, myristicin, elemicin, sinigrin, curcumin, bidemethoxycurcumin, dimethoxycurcumin, crocin, picrocrocin, quercetin, quercetin 4'-O-β-glucoside, apiol, carvone, limonene, α-phellandrene, galactomannan, rosmarinic acid, limonene, capsaicinoids, eugenol, garcinol, and α-asarone. Other than that, various spices are used to synthesize different types of metal-based and polymer-based nanoparticles like zinc oxide, gold, silver, selenium, silica, and chitosan nanoparticles which provide beneficial health effects such as antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, enzyme retardation effect, and antimicrobial activity. The nanoparticles can also be used in environmental pollution management like dye decolorization and in chemical industries to enhance the rate of reaction by the use of catalytic activity of the nanoparticles. The nutritional value, phytochemical properties, health advantages, and both traditional and modern applications of these spices, along with their functions in food fortification, have been thoroughly discussed in this review.

Comparing Crop Yield, Secondary Metabolite Contents, and Antifungal Activity of Extracts of Helichrysum odoratissimum Cultivated in Aquaponic, Hydroponic, and Field Systems

The overexploitation of wild plants for medicinal uses and conventional agricultural farming methods, which use high amounts of water, fertilizers, and pesticides, have had devastating environmental consequences. This study aimed to evaluate the prospects of using aquaponics and hydroponics as alternative approaches to soil cultivation by comparing the crop yields, secondary metabolite contents, and the antifungal activities of ethanol extracts of Helichrysum odoratissimum (L.) Sweet, a widely used medicinal plant species in Southern Africa. Six-week-old H. odoratissimum seedlings were grown in aquaponic and hydroponic systems. The growth parameters, secondary metabolite contents, and antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum were assessed. The results for crop yield (plant height, fresh and dry weights) and the tissue nutrient contents did not change substantially (p > 0.05) between aquaponic and hydroponic treatments. Gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC−MS) analysis showed that monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were the most abundant compounds in H. odoratissimum; however, no statistical difference was observed among the field, hydroponic, and aquaponic plants (DF = 2; χ2 = 2.67; p > 0.05). While there was no significant difference in polyphenol contents among the three treatments, remarkably, the flavonol contents in the leaves varied significantly (DF = 2; χ2 = 6.23; p < 0.05) among the three treatments. A higher flavonol content occurred in leaves from the hydroponic system than in leaves from the aquaponic (p < 0.05) and field (p > 0.05) systems. The MIC results showed that the ethanolic extract of H. odoratissimum was fungistatic against F. oxysporum; however, this effect was more prominent in the ethanol extracts of plants grown in the aquaponic system, with a mean MIC value of 0.37 ± 0.00 mg/mL The key findings of this study are that aquaponically cultivated plants exhibited the best antifungal activity, while higher total flavonol contents occurred in the hydroponically cultivated plants. In conclusion, aquaponics and hydroponics performed better or similar to field cultivation and are viable alternative methods for cultivating H. odoratissimum plants.

Integrated analysis of DNA methylation, transcriptome, and global metabolites in interspecific heterotic Capsicum F1 hybrid

Hybrid breeding is one of the efficacious methods of crop improvement. Here, we report our work towards understanding the molecular basis of F1 hybrid heterosis from Capsicum chinense and C. frutescens cross. Bisulfite sequencing identified a total of 70597 CG, 108797 CHG, and 38418 CHH differentially methylated regions (DMRs) across F₁ hybrid and parents, and of these, 4891 DMRs showed higher methylation in F₁ compared to the mid-parental methylation values (MPMV). Transcriptome analysis showed higher expression of 46–55% differentially expressed genes (DE-Gs) in the F₁ hybrid. The qRT-PCR analysis of 24 DE-Gs with negative promoter methylation revealed 91.66% expression similarity with the transcriptome data. A few metabolites and 65–72% enriched genes in metabolite biosynthetic pathways showed overall increased expression in the F₁ hybrid compared to parents. These findings, taken together, provided insights into the integrated role of DNA methylation, and genes and metabolites expression in the manifestation of heterosis in Capsicum.

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Global methylation identified significantly different proportions of mCs in hybrid

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Of common DMRs, 33.08% showed different methylation in hybrid from the mid-parental value

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Negatively correlated DEG pDMR-genes were enriched in metabolic pathways

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Significant higher expression of metabolites and DE-Gs were identified in the F₁ hybrid

Integrated omics analysis identified genes and their splice variants involved in fruit development and metabolites production in Capsicum species

To date, several transcriptomic studies during fruit development have been reported; however, no comprehensive integrated study on expression diversity, alternative splicing, and metabolomic profiling was reported in Capsicum. This study analyzed RNA-seq data and untargeted metabolomic profiling from early green (EG), mature green (MG), and breaker (Br) fruit stages from two Capsicum species, i.e., C. annuum (Cann) and C. frutescens (Cfrut) from Northeast India. A total of 117,416 and 96,802 alternatively spliced events (AltSpli-events) were identified from Cann and Cfrut, respectively. Among AltSpli-events, intron retention (IR; 32.2% Cann and 25.75% Cfrut) followed by alternative acceptor (AA; 15.4% Cann and 18.9% Cfrut) were the most abundant in Capsicum. Around 7600 genes expressed in at least one fruit stage of Cann and Cfrut were AltSpli. The study identified spliced variants of genes including transcription factors (TFs) potentially involved in fruit development/ripening (Aux/IAA 16-like, ETR, SGR1, ARF, CaGLK2, ETR, CaAGL1, MADS-RIN, FUL1, SEPALLATA1), carotenoid (PDS, CA1, CCD4, NCED3, xanthoxin dehydrogenase, CaERF82, CabHLH100, CaMYB3R-1, SGR1, CaWRKY28, CaWRKY48, CaWRKY54), and capsaicinoids or flavonoid biosynthesis (CaMYB48, CaWRKY51), which were significantly differentially spliced (DS) between consecutive Capsicum fruit stages. Also, this study observed that differentially expressed isoforms (DEiso) from 38 genes with differentially spliced events (DSE) were significantly enriched in various metabolic pathways such as starch and sucrose metabolism, amino acid metabolism, cysteine cutin suberin and wax biosynthesis, and carotenoid biosynthesis. Furthermore, the metabolomic profiling revealed that metabolites from aforementioned pathways such as carbohydrates (mainly sugars such as D-fructose, D-galactose, maltose, and sucrose), organic acids (carboxylic acids), and peptide groups significantly altered during fruit development. Taken together, our findings could help in alternative splicing-based targeted studies of candidate genes involved in fruit development and ripening in Capsicum crop.

Functionalization of Pasteurized Milk Using Rosemary, Thyme, and Ammoides Aqueous Extracts for Better Microbial Quality and an Improved Antioxidant Activity

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), and ammoides (Ammoidespusilla L.) aqueous extracts supplementation on the quality of heat-treated (55, 65, and 75 °C) raw milk (sample lots: A, B, and C) and cold-stored pasteurized milk (lot D). The three herbs have shown rich polyphenol contents (32.65−104.23 mgGAE/g), relevant antioxidant capacity, and high caffeic and rosmarinic acids and catechin contents. A significant reduction in psychrotrophic and total viable bacteria counts (PC and TVC) was attained following milk extract supplementation in both experiments. Monitoring PC and TVC counts in sample lots (A, B, and C) has revealed a significant improvement in extracts’ effectiveness in reducing the TVC count with the increment of temperature. The highest reductions of PC and TVC counts were achieved, respectively, in samples treated with thyme and rosemary in (lots: A, B, and C) and in samples treated with ammoides and thyme in (lot D). Thyme extract showed the highest milk serum DPPH scavenging activity (74.84% at 0.1 mg/mL) and induced a significant Listeria monocytogenes growth inhibition (>1 Log cycle). The sensory evaluation of supplemented milk has shown good consumer acceptability of ammoides-supplemented milk, quite similar to the control sample.

Efficacy of Dietary Supplementation with Capsicum Annum L on Performance, Hematology, Blood Biochemistry and Hepatic Antioxidant Status of Growing Rabbits

Simple Summary

The inclusion of phytochemicals in animal diets is a strategy that has been used to improve animal productivity by increasing the production yield. The addition of red-hot pepper (RHP) powder enhances productive rabbit performance and immunological, biochemical, and antioxidant statuses. Rabbits fed 2% RHP powder had higher weights. Thus, adding 1 or 2% RHP powder to rabbit diets is an easy, simple, and safe option for producers. The slaughter index and physical blood characteristics red blood cells (RBC’s), packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscle hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscle hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were significantly improved by feeding growing rabbits on RHP levels. Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and very-low were distinctly (VLDL-C) decreased (p < 0.05) when feeding rabbits either 1 or 2% RHP supplemented diets. Furthermore, supplementing the rabbit’s diet with 1% RHP led to a significant increase (p < 0.001) in the total antioxidant capacity when compared to the rabbits fed with the basal diet. Additionally, the thyroxin concentration was increased with RHP supplementation. A remarkably significant effect on serum and hepatic oxidative stress responses was observed with RHP supplementation.

Abstract

Animals fed with a high amount of a wide range of antioxidants in their diet are significantly protected against oxidative stress. Powerful antioxidant substances such as vitamin E, vitamin C, and carotenoids are present naturally in red-hot pepper (RHP). This study hypothesized that using RHP may provide protection against oxidative stress and enhance animal physiological responses. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of feeding New Zealand white rabbits with RHP-supplemented diets on their physiological and biochemical responses. New Zealand White rabbits (age = 6 weeks, n = 48) were split equally into three groups (n = 16 in each group). One group was fed a basal diet only (control group), with the other two groups fed a basal diet along with 1 and 2% RHP. Mass spectrometric analysis for the RHP methanolic extract showed some phenolic compounds, such as p-coumaric, sinapinic acids, vanillic, and luteolin, as well as catechin and its isomers. Hepatic antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GSH, GSH-Px, and CAT) were significantly elevated (p < 0.05) by feeding rabbits diets supplemented with 1 or 2% RHP. The addition of RHP significantly enhanced immune-responses; phagocytic activity, chemotaxis, TIg, IgG, IgM, and IgA increased when growing rabbits were fed RHP compared with the control group. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 1 or 2% RHP may play a role as an enhancer of growth and immune response in growing rabbits.

Cytotoxicity, Phytochemical, Antiparasitic Screening, and Antioxidant Activities of Mucuna pruriens (Fabaceae)

This study aimed at assessing the biological activities of Mucuna pruriens seeds using cytotoxicity, phytochemical, antiparasitic screening, and antioxidant assays. Mature fruits of M. pruriens were harvested from Fort Hare University's Research Farm located in Alice, South Africa. The collected seeds were pulverized in a standard process and taken to the laboratory for crude extraction and further treatments. Cytotoxic, antimalarial, and trypanocidal effects of crude extracts obtained from ethanol and water were tested, while the total phenolic, proanthocyanidin, and flavonoid contents of the aqueous extracts as well as their pharmacological activities were determined in vitro using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl ethanol (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Although the extracts showed mild antiparasitic (antiplasmodial and trypanocidal) effects, results from the cytotoxic experiment revealed that M. pruriens is not toxic to human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells when tested using 50 µg/mL of extracts. It was observed that the seeds were remarkably rich in phenol (3730.1 ± 15.52 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g) compared to flavonoids (63.03 ± 1.95 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g) and proanthocyanidin (18.92 ± 1.09 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g). Also, the antioxidant activities of the extracts were comparable to those of the standard antioxidant drugs (rutin and gallic acid) used, in a concentration-dependent manner. There was a direct relationship between phenolic acid content and antioxidant effects. It is therefore suggested that M. pruriens seeds be incorporated into human diets as a supplement to promote healthy living. Pharmaceutical industries with a particular interest in natural phenolic acids should consider using seeds of M. pruriens as pharmaceutical precursors.

In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of Crude Fruit Extract of Capsicum frutescens Var. Minima (Solanaceae) against Plasmodium berghei-Infected Mice

BACKGROUND

The alarming spread of parasite resistance to current antimalarial agents is threatening malaria controlling efforts. This, consequently, urged the scientific community to discover novel antimalarial drugs. Successful and most potent antimalarial drugs were obtained from medicinal plants. Capsicum frutescens is claimed to possess an antiplasmodial activity in Ethiopian and Ugandan folkloric medicine. However, there is a lack of pharmacological evidence for its antiplasmodial activity. This study, hence, was aimed at evaluating the in vivo antiplasmodial activity of C. frutescens in a mouse model.

METHODS

The dried fruits of the plant were extracted with 80% methanol using cold maceration. A 4-day suppressive test was employed to ascertain the claimed antiplasmodial effect of the plant. Following inoculation with P. berghei, mice in treatment groups were provided with three dose levels (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) of the extract, while 2% Tween 80 and chloroquine served as the negative and positive controls, respectively. Weight, temperature, packed cell volume, parasitemia, and survival time were then monitored.

RESULTS

The acute oral toxicity study revealed that the crude extract caused no mortality and revealed no overt sign of toxicity. In the 4-day suppressive test, all dose levels of the extract were found to exhibit a significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of parasitemia compared to those of the negative control. Maximum parasite suppression (93.28%) was exerted by the highest dose (400 mg/kg/day) of extract. Also, the extract significantly (p < 0.05) prolonged survival time and prevented body weight loss and reduction in temperature and anemia compared to the vehicle-treated group.

CONCLUSION

This investigation found strong evidence that the fruit extract of C. frutescens is endowed with promising antiplasmodial activity. Hence, the plant could serve as a potential source of a newer antimalarial agent.

A step towards Balkan Capsicum annuum L. core collection: Phenotypic and biochemical characterization of 180 accessions for agronomic, fruit quality, and virus resistance traits

Region-specific local landraces represent a germplasm diversity adapted and acclimatized to local conditions, and are ideal to breed for targeted market niches while maintaining the variability of heirloom traits. A collection of 180 pepper accessions, collected from 62 diverse locations across six Balkan countries, were characterized and evaluated for phenotypic and biochemical variation during a multi-year environment. An assortment of 32 agro-morphological, fruit quality, and virus resistance traits were evaluated, and the top 10% accessions were identified. A wide range of trait variation concerning plant architecture, inflorescence and fruit traits, yield and fruit quality was observed, and appreciable variation was noticed. According to hierarchical clustering, six distinct clusters were established based on pre-defined varietal groups. Divergence among accessions for phenotypic and fruit compositional variability was analyzed, and eight principal components were identified that contributed ~71% of the variation, with fruit shape, width, wall thickness, weight, and fruit quality traits being the most discriminant. Evaluation of the response to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and pepper mild mottle mosaic virus (PMMoV) showed that 24 and 1 accession were resistant, respectively while no tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) resistance was found. Considerable diversity for agro-bio-morphological traits indicates the Balkan pepper collection as good gene sources for pre-breeding and cultivar development that are locally adapted.

Evaluation of genetic relationship among varieties of Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum frutescens L. in West Africa using ISSR markers

The taxonomic identity of two closely related Capsicum species; Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens in West Africa has not been clarified because they have overlapping morphological traits. Effective control and management measures as well as improvement of crop plants in any breeding programme can only be implemented when plant species are correctly identified. The genetic relationships of the varieties of these Capsicum species were assessed using 10 ISSR primers for the first time. The varieties and species used include C. annuum var. abbreviatum; C. annuum var. acuminatum; C. annuum var. grossum and C. frutescens var. baccatum. PCR amplification of the isolated DNA from the four varieties of Capsicum revealed a total of 75 loci out of which 14 were found to be polymorphic. Average polymorphism information content (PIC) and heterozygosity (He) of the 10 ISSR markers were estimated as 0.67 and 0.78 respectively. The relatedness among the varieties assessed by Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPMGA) cluster analysis did not separate C. frutescens var. baccatum from the three cultivated varieties of C. annuum. The result from the principal component analysis (PCA) further supports the genetic relatedness and groupings obtained from the cluster analysis. Overall, the study indicated that ISSR markers were effective in assessing the genetic relatedness and revealed genetic homogeneity of the four varieties. Our results, therefore, support the inclusion of C. frutescens var. baccatum as a variety of C. annuum species.