Alghamdi Malak, Rathinasabapathy Thirumurugan, Komarnytsky Slavko
Plants for Human Health Institute, NC State University, 600 Laureate Way, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA.
Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, NC State University, 400 Dan Allen Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 May 20;26(10):4916. doi: 10.3390/ijms26104916.
The genus, native to the Americas and cultivated worldwide for culinary and medicinal purposes, includes five domesticated species with diverse fruit characteristics, pungency, and phytochemical profiles. However, the influence of casual urban backyard growing conditions on these traits remains unknown. In this study, we first assessed morphological production traits of 11 popular pepper cultivars over two growing seasons to establish a consistent baseline for cultivar performance. Next, we evaluated capsaicinoid and phenolic profiles of 47 pepper cultivars, which contribute to their pungency and antioxidant properties. Capsaicinoid profiles revealed species-specific ratios of capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, and nordihydrocapsaicin, with and displaying an average 64:30:6 profile, and showing a capsaicin-dominant 73:25:2 profile, and expressing a distinct dihydrocapsaicin-dominant 34:60:6 profile. Antioxidant activity positively correlated with capsaicinoid content (ABTS: R = 0.8264, < 0.0001; FRAP: R = 0.8117, < 0.0001), with (Carolina Reaper) exhibiting the highest activity (FRAP = 111.8 µM TE/g). In LPS-activated macrophages, all cultivars suppressed nitric oxide production both at the enzymatic (66-89%, < 0.001) and gene expression levels (4.2 to 5.3-fold reduction, < 0.05). Interleukin IL-1β expression was upregulated (3.8 to 12.9-fold, < 0.001), while no significant effects were noted on Cox-2, IL-6, and MCP-1 mRNA levels. These results provide novel insights into the molecular and biochemical adaptations of peppers grown in urban environments and underscore the importance of optimizing cultivation conditions to maximize their bioactive potential and health benefits.
该属原产于美洲，因烹饪和药用目的而在全球范围内种植，包括五个驯化品种，它们具有不同的果实特征、辛辣度和植物化学成分。然而，城市后院随意的种植条件对这些性状的影响仍然未知。在本研究中，我们首先评估了11个流行辣椒品种在两个生长季节的形态生产性状，以建立品种表现的一致基线。接下来，我们评估了47个辣椒品种的辣椒素类化合物和酚类成分，它们分别决定了辣椒的辛辣度和抗氧化特性。辣椒素类化合物谱显示了辣椒素、二氢辣椒素和去甲二氢辣椒素的种特异性比例，其中 和 呈现平均64:30:6的比例， 和 呈现以辣椒素为主的73:25:2的比例，而 呈现独特的以二氢辣椒素为主的34:60:6的比例。抗氧化活性与辣椒素类化合物含量呈正相关（ABTS：R = 0.8264， < 0.0001；FRAP：R = 0.8117， < 0.0001），其中 （卡罗莱纳死神辣椒）表现出最高活性（FRAP = 111.8 μM TE/g）。在脂多糖激活的巨噬细胞中，所有品种在酶水平（66 - 89%， < 0.001）和基因表达水平（降低4.2至5.3倍， < 0.05）上均抑制了一氧化氮的产生。白细胞介素IL - 1β的表达上调（3.8至12.9倍， < 0.001），而对Cox - 2、IL - 6和MCP - 1 mRNA水平未观察到显著影响。这些结果为城市环境中种植的辣椒的分子和生化适应性提供了新的见解，并强调了优化种植条件以最大化其生物活性潜力和健康益处的重要性。
