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Capsaicin in Hot Chili Peppers: In Vitro Evaluation of Its Antiradical, Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Activities

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Abstract

Capsaicin is a spicy capsaicinoid, produced as secondary metabolite by Capsicum fruits. This alkaloid has been used for years in folk medicine for its analgesic and antinflammatory properties although most data is referred to the raw fruit. In this study, the antiradical activity of the pure capsaicin has been studied using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays as well as its antiproliferative activity, using MTT assay, against two human tumour cell lines, the colorectal Caco-2 and the oesophageal OE19 cells. Furthermore, the antiproliferative activity observed on tumoral cells was compared with that of the human normal-like fibroblast cell line TelCOFS02MA. In addition, the apoptotic activity was evaluated using TUNEL assay. A higher radical scavenging activity was observed against ABTS radical cation than DPPH. Capsaicin showed also a higher cytotoxicity against cancer cells than normal-like cells with Selectivity index values greater than 2 at 72 h. Capsaicin induced apoptosis especially in OE19 cell line.

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Abbreviations

ABTS:

2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)

ATCC:

American type culture collection

DFI:

DNA Fragmentation index

DMEM:

Dulbecco’s modified eagle medium

DPPH:

2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl

EC50 :

Median effective concentration

FBS:

Fetal bovine serum

HEPES:

4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid

IC50 :

Median inhibition concentration

MEM:

Minimum essential medium amino acids solution

MTT:

3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide

NC:

Negative control

NF-kB:

Nuclear factor kappa B

RPMI:

Roswell park memorial institute 1640 medium

SI:

Selectivity index

TEAC:

Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity

TROLOX:

6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid

TUNEL:

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Università della Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100, Caserta, Italy

    Margherita Lavorgna, Elena Orlo, Roberta Nugnes, Concetta Piscitelli, Chiara Russo & Marina Isidori

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  1. Margherita Lavorgna
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  2. Elena Orlo
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Correspondence to Marina Isidori.

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The authors Margherita Lavorgna, Elena Orlo, Roberta Nugnes, Concetta Piscitelli, Chiara Russo, Marina Isidori declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Lavorgna, M., Orlo, E., Nugnes, R. et al. Capsaicin in Hot Chili Peppers: In Vitro Evaluation of Its Antiradical, Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Activities. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 74, 164–170 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-019-00722-0

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