Analysis of bioactive components in Ghost chili (Capsicum chinense) for antioxidant, genotoxic, and apoptotic effects in mice

Abstract

Apart from using traditionally in culinary preparations, chili peppers are also important constituents of herbal medicines. Although the bioactive components are studied mostly in the fruits of Capsicum annuum, no such study reports till date is available for Ghost chili (C. chinense) from North East India. Therefore, the aim of this study was to carry out an analysis of the bioactive constituents in the naturally occurring hottest chili Ghost chili (C. chinense), and evaluate its antioxidant, pro/anti-genotoxic, and apoptotic effects in in vitro and in vivo models. Three different antioxidant assays showed that lower doses of Ghost chili extract showed higher DNA protective and antioxidant activities. Furthermore, the administration for 7 alternate days into 6 week old Swiss albino mice showed that the lower doses (50 and 100 mg/kg bw) reduced DMBA induced genotoxicity beside significantly enhancing the activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes, while higher dose (200 mg/kg bw) induced genotoxic effect in bone marrow cells. The administration of higher dose (200 mg/kg bw) also induced apoptosis and upregulation of Bax (pro) and downregulation of Bcl-2 (anti) apoptotic genes. Dose dependent increase of apoptosis was also observed in Hep G2 and Hep 3B liver cancer cell lines. Our findings in the present study suggest that low doses of C. chinense can exert cancer chemopreventive effects. The induction of apoptosis in both cancer cell lines and mouse bone marrow cells, and up-regulation of proapoptotic genes suggests that the higher dose of C. chinense can be used for targeted cancer therapy.

Evaluation of the antioxidant potential of Capsicum annuum L., C. baccatum L. and C. chinense Jacq. cultivars

“…As reported by Bertão et al (2016), TPC in ethanol extracts of C. annuum was 341.78 mg GAE/g, of C. baccatum 156.76 mg GAE/g, and of C. chinense 107.98 mg GAE/g. Fresh fruits of C. chinense contained 200.17 mg GAE/g of TPC (Sarpras et al, 2018). Comparing with this study, our TPC results showed lower values but we used dried raw.…”

“…According to Bertão et al (2016), the content of flavonoids in the fruit extracts of C. annuum was 123.56 mg RE/g, of C. baccatum 98.76 mg RE/g, and of C. chinense 67.87 mg GAE/g (RE -rutin equivalent). The fresh fruit of C. chinense had 41.61 mg QE/g of flavonoid content (Sarpras et al, 2018). In the study of Farhoudi et al (2017) Together with flavonoids, the phenolic acids are also an important group of polyphenol compounds in human life that are distinguished as derivatives of benzoic acid and derivatives of cinnamic acid.…”

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

“…Higher dosage of pepper supplements was also found to have adverse effects, such as a slightly prooxidant effect at noncytotoxic concentrations (Huarte et al., 2021) or the ability to cause liver damage (Morittu et al., 2020). Therefore, further studies in future determining the safe dosage of pepper extracts are necessary because pepper extracts display dose‐dependent effects (Sarpras et al., 2018). Jang et al.…”

Genetic Regulation, Environmental Cues, and Extraction Methods for Higher Yield of Secondary Metabolites in Capsicum

“…The biochemical composition of Capsicum is beneficial not only for plant survival and defense but also for human consumption and health. Through the ages, Capsicum fruits have been consumed widely for their appealing taste as well as medicinal benefits, such as in the treatment of asthma, toothaches, cough, fever, gastrointestinal disorders, skin problems, diabetic neuropathy, and postherpetic neuralgia. − In the last two decades, capsaicin and its derivatives have also been explored for their biological and physiological functions, such as metabolism stimulants; antiobesity, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer medications; antioxidants; and analgesics in pharmacological formulations and application . Carotenoids and anthocyanins on the other hand are not only utilized as natural colorants and food additives but also have high antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antiaging, and skin- and eye-care properties associated with them. − The industrial use of Capsicum as dried paprika powder or in the form of oleoresin, which is a concentrated extract of capsaicinoids, flavonoids, carotenoids, and polyphenols obtained from the Capsicum fruits, finds application in food, cosmetics, as well as military purposes …”