Search

Black pepper is a well-known export commodity in Vietnam, but pepper production has been decreasing in recent years. The lack of knowledge about the origin and genetic characteristics of pepper varieties may create variety degradation and loss of product quality. Therefore, it is necessary to study the genetic diversity of existing local and imported pepper varieties and effectively propagate and create new varieties with high yields and quality. In this study, RAPD markers were used with 100 RAPD UBC primers to study genetic diversity. Twelve RAPD primers were selected to amplify 39 pepper cultivars, and 40 polymorphic DNA bands were created with sizes ranging from 200 to 1400 bp. Five of the 12 primers amplified all 39 cultivars. The genetic diversity of lines/cultivars in the pepper population is relatively high. The phylogenetic tree of the 39 cultivars has two branches showing similarity ranging from 41.8 to 51%. The first branch includes five pepper individuals, and the second consists of 34 individuals. There is a high diversity among the pepper cultivars in the same population.

Abstract The Atlantic Forest is regarded a rich source of aromatic plants with a broad spectrum of biological properties. The leaves of seven Piper species were collected from the Atlantic Forest domain in the coastal region of Paraná state in winter (W) and spring (S). The volatile oils were extracted from the leaves through hydrodistillation method. The volatile oils were characterized by means of GC-FID and GC-MS. Sesquiterpenes were among the major compounds in all species studied, with many dozens of representatives. However, very low concentrations of monoterpenes were observed; α-pinene in Piper mosenii and P. cernuum, δ-3-carene in P. rivinoides, camphene and β-pinene in P. cernuum are exceptions. The arylpropanoides myristicine and elemicin were found in considerable amount in P. diospyrifolium (26.2%/S) and P. mosenii (16.4%/W), respectively. These oils were also screened for inhibitory activities against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and α-glucosidase (AG). For AChE the most active samples were P. diospyrifolium, P. aduncum and P. cernuum, with inhibiting level > 93%. For the less sensitive AG, the most promising candidates were P. diospyrifolium and P. mosenii, with inhibiting level > 65%. These results highlight the importance of native plants as renewable source of new inhibitors for AChE and AG. Further investigation is required to identify the most active constituents or fractions from the selected volatile oils.

Essential oils from the leaves of Piper japurense (Miq.) C. DC., P. coariense Yunk., P. auriculifolium Yunk., P. curtistilum C.DC., P. alatipetiolatum Yunk. and P. brevesanum Yunk. from the Amazon Forest (Brazil) were obtained through hydrodistillation. The chemical composition of the oils was determined using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, which revealed the presence of 108 compounds representing 95.14%, 95.64%, 95.57%, 92.05%, 96.24% and 91.316% of the oils, respectively. All oils had an abundance of sesquiterpenes, except the oil from P. alatipetiolatum, which had a higher percentage of monoterpenes. The major components were a-eudesmol in the P. japurense (22.05%) and P. coariense (27.33%) oils, premnaspirodiene (32.26%) in the P. auriculifolium oil, caryophyllene oxide (28.69%) in the P. curtistilum oil, linalool (43.88%) in the P. alatipetiolatum oil and ß-elemene (12.75%) in the P. brevesanum oil. Although the oils were composed of terpenes, the chemical analysis revealed qualitative and quantitative differences. This is the first report of the chemical composition of these six species of Piper that occur in the Amazonia biome in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer has become the primary cause of death worldwide, and anticancer drugs are used to combat this disease. Synthesis of anticancer drugs has limited success due to adverse side effects has made compounds from natural products with minimal toxicity gain much popularity. Piper species are known to have a biological effect on human health. The biological activity is due to Piper species rich with active secondary metabolites that can combat most diseases, including cancer. This review will discuss the phytochemistry of Piper species and their anticancer activity. The identification and characterization of ten active metabolites isolated from Piper species were discussed in detail and their anticancer mechanism. These metabolites were mainly found could inhibit anticancer through caspase and P38/JNK pathways. The findings discussed in this review support the therapeutic potential of Piper species against cancer due to their rich source of active metabolites with demonstrated anticancer activity., (© 2023 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Phytochemical and molecular characterization of Piper species was investigated. There was a wide variation of the active compounds present in leaf and fruits of different Piper species/accessions. Among the two active compounds, piperine-1 content was more in P. chaba fruit and Piperine-2 in P. nigrum fruit as compared with other species. Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) marker was also used to analyze the genetic variation between the species/accession of Piper species. The phylogenetic analysis generated by ISSR marker was divided into two major groups with 47% similarity. First major group is only one species (i.e., Piper spp. Accession -1) and also morphologically distinct from other seven species. The second group is divided into two minor groups. Piper betle var. Godi Balunga and Piper betle var. Astarangi Balunga are grouped together with 100 % similarity at genetic level, whereas, Piper betle var. Utkal Sudhama having 97 % similarity with Piper betle var. Godi Balunga and Piper betle var. Astarangi Balunga. Both phytochemical and molecular marker showed significant variation among and between species/accessions. This study will help for the breeding program in Piper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]