Red pepper (Capsicum spp.) fruit: A model for the study of secondary metabolite product distribution and its management

Abstract

Red pepper (chili) is the plant with many benefits. The plant can be used as herbal medicines, food flavor and pet food. The plant is characteristic as a tropical plant. Therefore the plant is very potential as an export commodity. The usefulness of chili due to its secondary metabolite content called capsaicin. The compound is not distributed evenly in the fruit tissues. Moreover, the production of the compound in the plant tissues are affected by environment factors. Our anatomical research using paraffin method and light microscopy for the analyses found that chili fruit consist of pericarp, mesocarp, endocarp, septum, placenta, funiculus and seed. Our following research analyzed the capsaicin content in the various tissues of chili fruit using gas chromatography concluded that the compound is mostly accumulated in the fruit septum compared to other fruit tissues. Our study on the capsaicin content in various developing stage of chili fruit found that the highest capsaicin content was in the most ripened fruit. The time for fruit ripening varied based on the varieties. Fruit ripening mostly in between 35 d to 40 d after anthesis (DAA). Our other studies found that environment factors, namely growing medium and kind of fertilizer affected capsaicin content in the various stages of fruit development. Therefore, growing conditions and the selection of fruit tissues should be arranged based on the purposes of chili fruit utilization.