Antibacterial activity of jalapeño pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) extract fractions against select foodborne pathogens

Abstract

Capsicum annuum fruits have been investigated for antimicrobial activity in a number of studies. Capsaicin or other cinnamic acid pathway intermediates are often suggested to be the antimicrobial component, however there are conflicting results. No research has specifically fractionated jalapeño pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) extract to isolate and identify compound(s) responsible for inhibition. In this study, fractions were collected from jalapeño pepper extracts using reverse‐phase HPLC and tested for antibacterial activity using the disk diffusion method. Following initial fractionation, two fractions (E and F) displayed antibacterial activity against all three pathogens (p > .05). Commercial standards were screened to determine when they elude and it was found that capsaicin elutes at the same time as fraction E. Fractions E and F were subject to further HPLC fractionation and antibacterial analysis using two methods. The only fraction to display clear inhibition using both was fraction E1, inhibiting the growth of L. monocytogenes. Fraction E1 was analyzed using HPLC‐MS. The resulting mass spectra revealed fraction E1 contained compounds belonging to a group of C. annuum‐specific compounds known as capsianosides. Limited research is available on antibacterial activity of capsianosides, and a pure commercial standard is not available. In order to confirm the potential antimicrobial activity of the compound(s) isolated, methods need to be developed to isolate and purify capsianosides specifically from jalapeño peppers.

Metabolomics of Thrips Resistance in Pepper (Capsicum spp.) Reveals Monomer and Dimer Acyclic Diterpene Glycosides as Potential Chemical Defenses

“…Interestingly, of these ten capsianosides only compound #7 (Capsianoside II + malonyl) was also found in the mQTL study of Maharijaya et al ( 2018 ). Capsianosides may also have antimicrobial activity (Bacon et al 2017 ). Similar monomer 17-hydroxygeranyllinalool diterpene glycosides (HGL-DTG) in Nicotiana species are acting as direct defenses against multiple insect herbivores (Snook et al 1997 ; Heiling et al 2010 ).…”

Pharmacological, ethnopharmacological, and botanical evaluation of subtropical medicinal plants of Lower Kheng region in Bhutan

“…Data mining or literature review on all 61 species of medicinal plants for their reported pharmacological activities revealed that 52 of them have been already subjected to scientific studies and only eight species remained unstudied ( Table 1 ). 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 Most of the LAMP grow in the temperate, subtropical and tropical agroclimatic regions and are distributed worldwide. Consequently, same or similar medicinal plants are found common in traditional medicines practiced in the Asia–Pacific and African countries, although they may be used for treating different ailments in different countries.…”

Potential Phytopharmacy and Food Applications ofCapsicumspp.: A Comprehensive Review

“…In a further effort to address this issue, subfractions of crude jalapeño extract were collected and evaluated for antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica Baildon, and E. coli O157:H7. Of the fractions collected they consistently inhibited growth of L. monocytogenes, had no effect on E. coli O157:H7 and only one fraction inhibited Salmonella [74].…”