Abstract
The leaves of pepper plants contain abundant iron, calcium and vitamins. We have bred a pepper cultivar ‘Kyotona’ as a new leafy vegetable. In this report, nitric oxide (NO)-generation inhibitor was investigated in young pepper leaves and stems. Pepper leaves or fruits were tested for in vitro NO-generation inhibitory activities in a mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cell. Acetone extracts from the leaves showed marked inhibitory activity on NO-generation. Then we tried to isolate NO-generation inhibitors from acetone extracts of leaves by column chromatographies. As a result, apigenin was isolated as one of the inhibitors of NO-generation. Major polyphenols in ‘Kyotona’ were investigated by HPLC. It was demonstrated that major polyphenols in ‘Kyotona’ leaves and stems were apigenin glycosides and luteolin glycosides. The average contents of apigenin glycosides and luteolin glycosides were 29.3 and 227.0 μmol·100 g−1FW, respectively.
