The accumulation of phenylpropanoid and capsaicinoid compounds in cell cultures and whole fruit of the chilli pepper,Capsicum frutescensMill

✍ Scribed by Robert D. Hall; Mark A. Holden; Michael. M Yeoman

• Book ID: 104620428
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 897 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0167-6857
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00043153

✦ Synopsis

The accumulation of the phenylpropanoid precursors of capsaicin in suspended and immobilised cell cultures of C.frutescens has been studied and compared with accumulation in whole pepper fruit. The use of HPLC techniques has revealed that the phenolic precursors of capsaicin are present in chilli pepper cells at extremely low levels, irrespective of the source of tissue or the developmental state. Radioactive tracer studies have indicated that the majority of the phenolic derivatives of phenylalanine are ultimately bound to the insoluble fraction of the cells. Results from experiments where immobilised cell cultures were grown under conditions which enhance capsaicin yield would suggest that the 'diversion' of compounds into this bound fraction has a considerable influence upon capsaicin biosynthesis in this system.