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Cera pepper (Capsicum pubescens) is an exotic fruit considered as a rich source of nutraceuticals with known benefits for human health and also an economic resource for local producers in Mexico. The present investigation reports on the in vitro and in situ antifungal activity of the essential oil from Mentha piperita and its two major volatiles (menthol and menthone) against Fusarium sambucinum, which is a causal agent of soft rot in cera pepper. The application of these components in pepper fruits previously infected with F. sambucinum caused a significant delay (p<0.05) in the emergence of soft rot symptoms. This effect was reflected in the maintenance of pH and fruit firmness during a period of 10 days. The nutrimental content of the fruits (protein, fiber, fat and other proximate parameters) was conserved in the same period of time. The nutraceutical content of these fruits was estimated by the quantification of seven carotenoids (violaxanthin, cis-violaxanthin, luteoxanthin, antheraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and β-carotene), ascorbic acid and capsaicinoids (capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin). According to our results, the essential oil from M. Piperita and its major volatiles exerted a preservative effect on these metabolites. Our findings demonstrated that the essential oil of M. Piperita and its major volatiles represent an ecological alternative for the control of fusariosis caused by F. sambucinum in cera peppers under postharvest conditions., (© 2021 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

This work reports on the metabolic fingerprinting of ten new races of Capsicum annuum cv. jalapeño using 1 H NMR based metabolomics coupled to machine learning projections. Ten races were classified and evaluated according to their differential metabolites, variables of commercial interest and by multivariate data analysis/machine learning algorithm. According to our results, experimental races of jalapeño peppers exhibited differences in carbohydrate, amino acid, nucleotide and organic acid contents. Forty-eight metabolites were identified by 1D and 2D NMR and the differential metabolites were quantified by qNMR. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) separated the studied races into two groups. The group A included the races Colosus, Emperador, Fundador and Rayo whereas the group B included the races Don Benito, SMJ 1416, SMJ 1417, SMJ 1423, SMJ 145 and STAM J0904. OPLS-DA revealed that levels of citric acid in group A were higher than in group B, while the levels of asparagine, fumaric acid, GABA, glucose, malic acid, pyruvic, quinic acid, sucrose and tryptophan were higher in the group B. Remarkably, ascorbic acid was exclusively found in the race Colosus. Random forest model revealed the diversity of the experimental races and the similarity rate with the well-established races. The most relevant variables used to generate a model were length, weight, yield, width, xylose content and organic acids content., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The infection of Capsicum annuum cv. mirasol by Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii (16SrVI) causes devastating crop losses in northern Mexico. This study addresses the metabolomics profiling of mirasol chili peppers (Capsicum annuum cv. mirasol) infected by Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii. For this study, 25 diseased fruits and 25 healthy fruits were used. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) revealed dramatic changes in the content of 42 metabolites which were identified in diseased and healthy mirasol chili peppers. The endogenous levels of fructose, glucose and formic acid were substantially decreased in the diseased chili peppers. In the same group of samples, high concentrations of alanine, asparagine, fumaric acid, sucrose and threonine were observed. The content of Choline didńt present a significant difference. This evidence supports the fact that Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii infection reduces de CO 2 fixation into carbohydrates, decreases invertase activity, and inhibits glycolysis in the diseased plant tissues. The levels of ascorbic acid, capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicinin in diseased fruits were dramatically decreased, suggesting that Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii can reduce the pungency and the nutraceutical value of mirasol chili peppers., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Approximately 90% of the chili peppers consumed in the world are harvested in Mexico. The present article describes the untargeted 1 H NMR-based metabolomic profiling of 11 cultivars of Capsicum annuum species which are routinely consumed worldwide. The metabolomic fingerprinting detected via 1 H NMR contained 44 metabolites including sugars, amino acids, organic acids, polyphenolic acids and alcohols which were identified by comparison with the literature data, with Chenomx database and by 2D NMR. Statistical approaches based on principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to classify the Capsicum annuum cultivars according to their metabolite profile. LDA revealed metabolomic differences and similarities among Capsicum annuum cultivars, whereas hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) significantly separated the cultivars according to the phylogenetic trees obtained. Substantial endogenous levels of free amino acids and carbohydrates were detected in all the studied cultivars but interestingly, Capsicum annuum cv. mirasol and C. annuum cv. chilaca contained almost three-fold more endogenous levels of vitamin C than the other cultivars. Considering that this antioxidant was found in crude aqueous extracts, its abundance could be directly proportional to its bioavailability for human nutrition. The results suggest that 1 H NMR is an effective method to determine differences among cultivars of the Capsicum annuum species., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Herein we report on the 1 H NMR-based metabolomics profiling of ten new races of Capsicum annuum cv. serrano, cultivated in Mexico. Forty eight metabolites (including sugars, amino acids, organic acids, polyphenolic acids and alcohols) were identified and quantified by 2D NMR and qNMR, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) separated the ten races into two clusters, from which citric acid, formic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, glucose, fructose, sucrose and galactose were found as differential metabolites. This is the first study describing the chemical profiling of ten new races of Capsicum annuum cv. serrano and the spectrometric method used presently is characterized by great simplicity, robustness and reproducibility. Thus, this technique can be used for establishing reliable metabolomic fingerprints of different races of Capsicum annuum cv. serrano., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Beet mild curly top virus (BMCTV) is associated with an outbreak of curly top in chili pepper, tomato and other Solanaceae species, which can cause severe crop losses. The aim of this work was to obtain the 1 H NMR metabolomic profiling of both healthy chili peppers (cv. mirasol) and infected chili peppers with BMCTV in order to find chemical markers associated to the infection process. Significant differences were found between the two groups, according to principal component analysis and orthogonal projections to latent structure discriminant analysis. Compared to the asymptomatic peppers, the symptomatic fruits had higher relative abundance of fructose, isoleucine, histidine, phenylalanine and tryptophan. Contrarily, the asymptomatic samples showed greater amounts of malonate and isobutyrate. These results suggest that in diseased chili peppers there are metabolic changes related to the viral acquisition of energy for replication and capsid assembly. This is the first study describing the chemical profiling of a polar extract obtained from Capsicum annuum infected by BMCTV under open field conditions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) is the most important and emblematic condiment in Mexican food. Serrano pepper is a variety of C. annuum that is traditionally cultivated in Mexico and commercialized in local markets. The aim of this study was to describe the 1 H NMR metabolomic profiling of the aqueous phase of serrano peppers harvested from two distinct regions, in the states of Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico. According to the current results, aspartate citrate, lactate, leucine and sucrose were found at higher amount in the serrano peppers from Veracruz. On the other hand, acetate, formate, fumarate, malonate, phosphocholine, pyruvate and succinate showed the highest abundance in this product from Oaxaca. These are the main metabolites that distinguish one group from the other. The spectrometric method reported presently is characterized by great simplicity, robustness and reproducibility. Thus, this technique can be used for establishing reliable metabolomic fingerprints of serrano peppers grown under different environmental conditions., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)