Biochimie & Pharmacologie : Libre accès
Libre accès
ISSN: 2167-0501
ISSN: 2167-0501
Shaimaa GA, Mahmoud MS, Mohamed MR and Emam AA
In the present study, two cultivars of pepper (Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens) at two maturity stages (green and red) were evaluated for total phenolic and flavonoid content, organic acids, vitamin C, β-carotene, vitamin E, capsaicin and the antioxidant and anticancer activities of their aqueous extracts. Total phenolic content was found to be ranged from 11.09-26.14 mg GAE/g DW, while total flavonoid content was ranged from 2.7 mg to 5.0 mg QE/g DW. Twenty six phenolic and aromatic compounds, twelve flavonoid compounds and eleven organic acids were identified in all samples by using of HPLC. Vitamin C, β-carotene, vitamin E and capsaicin contents were also estimated by HPLC and detected at high levels which were ranged from 500.0-645.5 mg/100 g DW, 6.56-35.69 mg/100 g DW, 10.44-19.36 mg/100 g DW and 37.46-69.90 mg/100 g DW, respectively. Antioxidant activities of pepper samples were carried out by using of both DPPH•-scavenging activity and total antioxidant capacity (ABTS•+) assays and the extracts exhibited high activities which were ranged from 96.95% to 98.64% and from 77.73% to 93.11%, respectively. Finally, the potential anticancer activity of pepper extracts and capsaicin standard was tested against prostate (PC-3) and breast (MCF-7) carcinoma cell lines in vitro. The results showed that sweet pepper had a higher anticancer activity against PC-3, in contrast, chilli pepper had a higher against MCF-7.