Extraction, Characterization, and Anticancer Activity of Dihydrocapsaicin and Farnesyl Phenyl Sulfone Nanoparticles from Iraqi Hot Pepper Seeds
نویسندگان
1 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Diyala, Baquba, Diyala, Iraq
2 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Diyala, Baquba, Diyala, Iraq
3 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Iraq
4 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Diyala, Baquba, Diyala, Iraq
5 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Diyala, Baquba, Diyala, Iraq
6 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Diyala, Baquba, Diyala, Iraq
doi
10.22052/JNS.2026.02.008چکیده
Plant-derived medicinal extracts have found application in preparation of bioactive compounds which can be utilized in preparation of biomedical-based sustainable nanomaterials. This study involves extraction and characterization of two large constituents (dihydrocapsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillylnonanamide and farnesyl phenyl sulfone (2E, 6E-3,7,11-trimethyldodeca-2,6,10-trien-1-yl)sulfonyl benzene) in the seeds of the Iraqi green chili pepper ( Capsicum annuum). A profile of cold maceration extraction of 10 days that depends on the solvent. The acetic acid was found to be more selective and effective to yield a percentage of high amount of dihydrocapsaicin (86) and farnesyl phenyl sulfone (10). Ethanol on the contrary was not as selective to give less dihydrocapsaicin (79%) and higher farnesyl phenyl sulfone (18%). Mechanical downsizing of nanoscale is obtained through ball milling which produces downsizing particles with high surface area and enhanced physicochemical properties. The structural confirmation tests were performed using FT-IR, UV-Visible spectroscopy, and GC-MS. In addition to this, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to support the existence of nanoscale crystalline structures that have a unique surface topology. The in vitro assessment of the anticancer properties of the prepared nanoformulations was conducted against the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells line using normal human dermal fibroblast neonatal cells (HDFn) as control. The extracts exhibited a dose-dependent cytotoxicity toward HepG2 cancer cells indicating their promise as natural anticancer agents. These results underscore the use of chili pepper seeds as a sustainable agricultural byproduct and a potential source of nanostructured plant-derived molecules in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical therapy especially in the treatment of liver cancer.
