Pepper originated from the Capsicum genus, which is recognized as one of the most predominant and globally distributed genera of the Solanaceae family. It is a diverse genus, consisting of more than 31 different species including five domesticated species, Capsicum baccatum, C. annuum, C. pubescen, C. frutescens, and C. chinense. Pepper is the most widely used spice in the world and is highly valued due to its pungency and unique flavor. Pepper is a good source of provitamin A; vitamins E and C; carotenoids; and phenolic compounds such as capsaicinoids, luteolin, and quercetin. All of these compounds are associated with their antioxidant as well as other biological activities. Interestingly, Capsicum fruits have been used as food additives in the treatment of toothache, parasitic infections, coughs, wound healing, sore throat, and rheumatism. Moreover, it possesses antimicrobial, antiseptic, anticancer, counterirritant, appetite stimulator, antioxidant, and immunomodulator activities. Capsaicin and Capsicum creams are accessible in numerous ways and have been utilized in HIV-linked neuropathy and intractable pain.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/15/5179/pdf

Biological Properties, Bioactive Constituents, and Pharmacokinetics of Some Capsicum spp. and Capsaicinoids.

Pepper of the Capsicum species is a common ingredient in various food preparations by different cultures worldwide. The Capsicum is recognised by its five main domesticated species, namely Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens and C. pubescens. The genetic diversity in Capsicum offers fruits in wide ranges of morphology and carotenoid profile. Carotenoids enhance the value of pepper from a nutritional standpoint, despite being commonly prized for the pharmacologically active pungent capsaicinoids. Carotenoids of pepper comprise mainly of the unique, powerful and highly stable capsanthin and capsoroubin, together with β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, antheraxanthin and violaxanthin. These carotenoids are present at diverse profile and varying levels, biosynthetically connected to the fruit maturity stages. This review describes the health-promoting functional attributes of the carotenoids that are mainly associated with their excellent role as lipophilic antioxidants. Capsicum as a great source of carotenoids is discussed in the aspects of main domesticated species, biosynthesis, pigment profile, antioxidant activity and safety. Findings from a number of in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies provided appreciable evidence on the protective effects of pepper’s carotenoids against degenerative diseases. Hence, pepper with its functional carotenoids might be recommended in health-promoting and disease preventing strategies.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/8/10/469/pdf

Carotenoids of Capsicum Fruits: Pigment Profile and Health-Promoting Functional Attributes

Capsicum annuum L. is a significant horticulture crop known for its pungent varieties and used as a spice. The pungent character in the plant, known as capsaicinoid, has been discovered to have various health benefits. However, its production has been affected due to various exogenous stresses, including diseases caused by a soil-borne pathogen, Pythium spp. predominantly affecting the Capsicum plant in younger stages and causing damping-off, this pathogen can incite root rot in later plant growth stages. Due to the involvement of multiple Pythium spp. and their capability to disperse through various routes, their detection and diagnosis have become crucial. However, the quest for a point-of-care technology is still far from over. The use of an integrated approach with cultural and biological techniques for the management of Pythium spp. can be the best and most sustainable alternative to the traditionally used and hazardous chemical approach. The lack of race-specific resistance genes against Pythium spp. can be compensated with the candidate quantitative trait loci (QTL) genes in C. annuum L. This review will focus on the epidemiological factors playing a major role in disease spread, the currently available diagnostics in species identification, and the management strategies with a special emphasis on Pythium spp. causing damping-off and root rot in different cultivars of C. annuum L.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/4/823/pdf

Pythium Damping-Off and Root Rot of Capsicum annuum L.: Impacts, Diagnosis, and Management.

﻿Abstract Capsicum L. (tribe Capsiceae, Solanaceae) is an American genus distributed ranging from the southern United States of America to central Argentina and Brazil. The genus includes chili peppers, bell peppers, ajíes, habaneros, jalapeños, ulupicas and pimientos, well known for their economic importance around the globe. Within the Solanaceae, the genus can be recognised by its shrubby habit, actinomorphic flowers, distinctive truncate calyx with or without appendages, anthers opening by longitudinal slits, nectaries at the base of the ovary and the variously coloured and usually pungent fruits. The highest diversity of this genus is located along the northern and central Andes. Although Capsicum has been extensively studied and great advances have been made in the understanding of its taxonomy and the relationships amongst species, there is no monographic treatment of the genus as a whole. Based on morphological and molecular evidence studied from field and herbarium specimens, we present here a comprehensive taxonomic treatment for the genus, including updated information about morphology, anatomy, karyology, phylogeny and distribution. We recognise 43 species and five varieties, including C.mirum Barboza, sp. nov. from São Paulo State, Brazil and a new combination C.muticum (Sendtn.) Barboza, comb. nov.; five of these taxa are cultivated worldwide (C.annuumL.var.annuum, C.baccatumL.var.pendulum (Willd.) Eshbaugh, C.baccatumL.var.umbilicatum (Vell.) Hunz. & Barboza, C.chinense Jacq. and C.frutescens L.). Nomenclatural revision of the 265 names attributed to chili peppers resulted in 89 new lectotypifications and five new neotypifications. Identification keys and detailed descriptions, maps and illustrations for all taxa are provided.

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﻿Monograph of wild and cultivated chili peppers (Capsicum L., Solanaceae)

Chile peppers (Capsicum spp.) are among the most important horticultural crops in the world due to their number of uses. They are considered a major cultural and economic crop in the state of New Mexico in the United States. Evaluating genetic diversity in current New Mexican germplasm would facilitate genetic improvement for different traits. This study assessed genetic diversity, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) among 165 chile pepper genotypes using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers derived from genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). A GBS approach identified 66,750 high-quality SNP markers with known map positions distributed across the 12 chromosomes of Capsicum. Principal components analysis revealed four distinct clusters based on species. Neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis among New Mexico State University (NMSU) chile pepper cultivars showed two main clusters, where the C. annuum genotypes grouped together based on fruit or pod type. A Bayesian clustering approach for the Capsicum population inferred K = 2 as the optimal number of clusters, where the C. chinense and C. frutescens grouped in a single cluster. Analysis of molecular variance revealed majority of variation to be between the Capsicum species (76.08 %). Extensive LD decay (~ 5.59 Mb) across the whole Capsicum population was observed, demonstrating that a lower number of markers would be required for implementing genome wide association studies for different traits in New Mexican type chile peppers. Tajima’s D values demonstrated positive selection, population bottleneck, and balancing selection for the New Mexico Capsicum population. Genetic diversity for the New Mexican chile peppers was relatively low, indicating the need to introduce new alleles in the breeding program to broaden the genetic base of current germplasm. Genetic diversity among New Mexican chile peppers was evaluated using GBS-derived SNP markers and genetic relatedness on the species level was observed. Introducing novel alleles from other breeding programs or from wild species could help increase diversity in current germplasm. We present valuable information for future association mapping and genomic selection for different traits for New Mexican chile peppers for genetic improvement through marker-assisted breeding.

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Single nucleotide polymorphisms reveal genetic diversity in New Mexican chile peppers ( Capsicum spp.)

/pdf/medicinal-uses-and-health-benefits-of-chili-pepper-capsicum-29z4c2mwd5.pdf

Belay Teweldemedhin

Papers

Medicinal uses and health benefits of chili pepper (Capsicum spp.): a review