Hexane extracts from fruit of two varieties of Capsicum chinense Jacq.: their volatile constituents and antiacetylcholinesterase, antileishmanial and antiproliferative activities. Issue 23 (1st December 2022) - Toigo, Sandriny E. M.
Abstract: This article aims to investigate volatile constituents and antiacetylcholinesterase, antileishmanial and antiproliferative activities of hexane extracts from Capsicum chinense fruit (unripe bode pepper 'HE-UB' and ripe little beak pepper 'HE-RB'). HE-UB and HE-RB were screened by the microplate assay method to determine their antiacetylcholinesterase activity. Both exhibited inhibitory potential, i. e., IC50 = 41.5 and 20.3 µg/mL, respectively. HE-UB (IC50 = 67.19 µg/mL) and HE-RB (IC50 = 38.16 µg/mL) exhibited antileishmanial activity against promastigote forms of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis . In addition, HE-UB and HE-RB demonstrated cytotoxic activity against different human tumor cell lines with IC50 ranging from 325.40 to 425.0 µg/mL. Both GC-FID and GC-MS analyses revealed that the major component in both extracts was E -caryophyllene. In short, HE-RB was more satisfactory than HE-UB in all in vitro activities under evaluation. These findings may be used as initial data for further studies of Capsicum species. Graphical Abstract: UF0001