Abstract
The pepino (Solanum muricatum) is an edible and juicy fruit native to the Andean region which is becoming increasingly important. However, little information is available on its phenolic composition and bioactive properties. Four pepino varieties (37-A, El Camino, Puzol, and Valencia) and one accession (E-7) of its close wild relative S. caripense were characterized by HPLC-DAD-MSn/ESI. Twenty-four hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were detected (5 to 16 compounds per variety or accession), with differences of more than two-fold for their total content among the materials studied. The major phenolics in the pepino varieties were chlorogenic acids and derivatives, while in S. caripense a caffeoyl-synapoyl-quinic acid was the major compound. The in vitro antioxidant capacity (DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate), ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), and TRC (total reducing capacity) tests) was higher in S. caripense. Pepino and S. caripense extracts were not toxic for RAW 264.7 macrophage cells, and the raw extracts inhibited NO production of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages by 36% (El Camino) to 67% (37-A). No single variety ranked high simultaneously for hydroxycinnamic acids content, antioxidant activity and biological activity. We suggest the screening of large collections of germplasm or the use of complementary crosses between Puzol (high for hydroxycinnamic acids and biological activity) and S. caripense E-7 (high for antioxidant activity) to select and breed pepino varieties with enhanced properties.
Highlights
The pepino (Solanum muricatum Aiton), known as pepino dulce, is an herbaceous Andean crop cultivated for its edible, mildly sweet, and juicy fruits [1]
UV spectra, [M H] ́, and mass fragmentation and comparison with available data in the literature [21,22,23,24], a total of 24 phenolic compounds were identified in the five accessions of S. muricatum and S. caripense (Table 1)
This is the first study in which phenolics profile and composition, antioxidant activity, and biological activity have been studied in several pepino varieties and in its wild relative S. caripense
Summary
The pepino (Solanum muricatum Aiton), known as pepino dulce, is an herbaceous Andean crop cultivated for its edible, mildly sweet, and juicy fruits [1]. For phenolic compounds, which make a major contribution to the bioactive properties of other Solanum fruits like the tomato (S. lycopersicum L.), tree tomato (S. betaceum L.), or common (S. melongena L.), scarlet (S. aethiopicum L.), and gboma (S. macrocarpon L.) eggplants [13,14,15,16], there is little information on the pepino [8,12,17] In this respect, it has been found that the phenolics content of the pepino fruit is much higher than that of vitamin C [8,12], indicating that they may have an important role in the pepino’s bioactive properties. All these studies used only one variety and little information exists on the diversity of pepino phenolics
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