Abstract
Alcoholic and aqueous extracts were obtained from red sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) by different methodologies to evaluate their cytotoxic, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Alcoholic extracts (MFP, MSd, SFP, SDP, SSd) from fresh red sweet pepper (FP) and dry pulp (DP) and seed (Sd) were obtained by maceration (M) and Soxhlet (S) equipment using methanol as extraction solvent; whereas aqueous extracts (LFP, LSd) were obtained by decoction followed by lyophilization (L). Human tumoral cell lines from breast (MCF-7 and SKBr3), prostate (PC3) and cervix (HeLa), and fibroblasts (as control) were used to determine the cytotoxic properties by the MTT assay. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were determined by DPPH and disc diffusion method, respectively. The extracts SDP and SFP showed the higher cytotoxic activity. The SDP extract had a significant (P < 0.05) in-vitro effect on HeLa (1.9 ± 1.4 µg/mL) and PC3 (< 1 µg/mL) cells with a moderated impact on fibroblasts (26.1 ± 1.2 µg/mL); whereas, SFP had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on MCF-7 cell line (2.1 ± 1.2 µg/mL) with a moderated impact on fibroblasts (25.9 ± 1.0 µg/mL). The higher antioxidant activity was found for MFP (80.3 ± 0.2%) and SFP extracts (75.5 ± 0.5%). Mild antimicrobial activity was only observed for alcoholic extracts. The results showed the potential of red sweet pepper (C. annuum L.) as a source of antioxidant and cytotoxic compounds, and suggest the need of further studies to isolate and characterize the bioactive compounds that impart those properties.
Highlights
Fruits and vegetables have been recognized as natural sources of various bioactive compounds, the main phytochemical compounds present in these products being the flavonoids, anthocyanins, vitamins C and E, phenolic compounds, dietary fibre, and carotenoids (Gonzalez-Aguilar et al, 2008)
A moderated cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cell line was observed with MFP (IC50 6.8 ± 1.1) and LFP (IC50 5.4 ± 1.0)
There are few studies in the literature reporting the cytotoxic activity of red sweet pepper (C. annuum L.)
Summary
Fruits and vegetables have been recognized as natural sources of various bioactive compounds, the main phytochemical compounds present in these products being the flavonoids, anthocyanins, vitamins C and E, phenolic compounds, dietary fibre, and carotenoids (Gonzalez-Aguilar et al, 2008). Sweet pepper (C. annuum L.) is a plant whose fruits have different forms and size, and several colours, ranging from yellow to red, from intense purple to dark green to black, depending on the genotype or the seasonal period of breeding (Nazzaro et al, 2009) This fresh fruit is known as an excellent source of Vitamin C and E as well as provitamin A, carotenoids and polyphenols, and are considered of great importance because of their antioxidant properties (Nazzaro et al, 2009; Shaha, Rahman, & Asrul, 2013; Yazdizadeh Shotorban et al, 2012). Enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) properties of those extracts
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