Secondary Metabolic Profile as a Tool for Distinction and Characterization of Cultivars of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) Cultivated in Pará State, Brazil

Abstract

This study evaluated the chemical compositions of the leaves and fruits of eight black pepper cultivars cultivated in Pará State (Amazon, Brazil). Hydrodistillation and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry were employed to extract and analyze the volatile compounds, respectively. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were predominant (58.5–90.9%) in the cultivars “Cingapura”, “Equador”, “Guajarina”, “Iaçará”, and “Kottanadan”, and “Bragantina”, “Clonada”, and “Uthirankota” displayed oxygenated sesquiterpenoids (50.6–75.0%). The multivariate statistical analysis applied using volatile composition grouped the samples into four groups: γ-Elemene, curzerene, and δ-elemene (“Equador”/“Guajarina”, I); δ-elemene (“Iaçará”/“Kottanadan”/“Cingapura”, II); elemol (“Clonada”/“Uthirankota”, III) and α-muurolol, bicyclogermacrene, and cubebol (“Bragantina”, IV). The major compounds in all fruit samples were monoterpene hydrocarbons such as α-pinene, β-pinene, and limonene. Among the cultivar leaves, phenolics content (44.75–140.53 mg GAE·g−1 FW), the enzymatic activity of phenylalanine-ammonia lyase (20.19–57.22 µU·mL−1), and carotenoids (0.21–2.31 µg·mL−1) displayed significant variations. Due to black pepper’s susceptibility to Fusarium infection, a molecular docking analysis was carried out on Fusarium protein targets using each cultivar’s volatile components. F. oxysporum endoglucanase was identified as the preferential protein target of the compounds. These results can be used to identify chemical markers related to the susceptibility degree of black pepper cultivars to plant diseases prevalent in Pará State.

Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity and Cytotoxicity Effects of Extracts of Piper nigrum L. and Piperine

“…In addition to piperine, many other amides have been isolated from the Piper species [13,14]. Studies on the pharmacological effects of piperine have shown that it has antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, analgesic, anticonvulsant, antiulcerogenic, gastroprotective, antioxidant, and antiseptic properties; piperine also makes other bioactive compounds more absorbable and bioavailable [15][16][17].…”

Feasibility of Applying Untargeted Metabolomics with GC-Orbitrap-HRMS and Chemometrics for Authentication of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and Identification of Geographical and Processing Markers

“…The feature m / z 204.18780 at RT window = 8.48–8.68 with VIP score = 1.69 was putatively identified as α-cubebene (Table , Figure C), a sesquiterpene already reported in black pepper . As shown in Figure D, higher relative levels of α-cubebene were found in nonsterilized samples in comparison with those submitted to sterilization.…”

“…19 Considering studies focused on food fraud, fingerprint analysis by GC-MS combined with PCA and PLS-DA was performed for discrimination of black pepper from its adulterant Carica papaya L., 20 revealing piperine and cholestenone, among other metabolites, as potential markers. Bearing in mind the applicability for geographical authentication purposes, GC-MS analysis combined with HCA has been reported as a successful tool for reliable geographical traceability of black pepper cultivars from different Brazilian 21 and Chinese regions, 4 showing the remarkable relationship between the production region and the black pepper composition. However, to the best of our knowledge, the feasibility of fingerprint analysis using GC combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has not yet been investigated for authentication purposes of black pepper from other geographical origins and subjected to sterilization processes.…”

Quality of Black Pepper Produced in Northeastern Pará

“…Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is a member of Piperaceae of Asian origin that is grown in the state of Pará, which has climate, humidity and soil conditions favorable for the establishment of commercial cultivation, especially in northeastern Pará; for a long time, this state was the largest national producer and exporter of black pepper. Currently, Pará is surpassed by the State of Espírito Santo in production (Rodrigues et al, 2019;Barata et al, 2021).…”