Antioxidant and anti-obesity properties of local chilies varieties in Malaysia

摘要

Obesity is a serious health concern as it may initiate common chronic diseases. Chili pepper is an important spice that brings spiciness and commonly used in cuisines. However, the antioxidant and anti-obesity properties of chili varieties in Malaysia has not yet been fully investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the antioxidant (content and activity) and anti-obesity properties of five different varieties of local chili peppers. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were determined through ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2, 2 ' azinobis-(3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assays. Cell cytotoxicity of the selected chili extracts was determined in 3T3-L1 pre adipocytes using cell viability assay(MTT) assay. Whereas the ability to inhibit oil accumulation in fully differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes of the selected chili pepper extracts was assayed using Oil Red O staining. The results showed thatKulai 568pulp extract had the highest level of total phenolic content (TPC) (47.88 +/- 0.220 mg GAE/g), whereasCentilpulp extract had the highest level of total flavonoid content(TFC) (26.60 +/- 0.52 mg QE/g). In term of antioxidant activities,Barapulp extract had the highest value in FRAP (3.058 +/- 0.002 mM Fe2+/mg extract) and ABTS (IC50 = 12.411 +/- 0.025). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis,Barapulp extract has the highest level of capsaicin (72.271 +/- 0.957 mu g/ml). In terms of inhibition of oil accumulationCentilseed extract presented the best result (69.09-92.20%), whileBarapulp extract inhibited the most pancreatic lipase activity (IC50 = 4.84 +/- 0.57 mu g/ml). Thus, it is suggested thatCentilseed andBarapulp extracts can be a potent antioxidant and anti-obesity agents.