A. Vegetable An edible usually succulent plant and portion of it eaten with staple as main course or supplementary food in cooked or raw form 10,000 species eaten as vegetable Provide vitamins, minerals Prevent disease risk Daily requirements 75-125g (Weinberger and Lumpkin, 2007)

B. Capsicum History Originate from South and Central America Popular countries- China, Turkey, Nigeria, Mexico, Spain, U.S.A. In Pakistan production 70%(2014) Total production (21,209.27 kg acre-1 ) Vegetable vary in color, shape, and size classification is difficult (Passioura, 2006)

C. Classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Solanaceae Genus: Capsicum (Dias, 2012)

D. Varieties

E. Types 5 domesticated species C. annuum.L C. baccatum C. chinense  C. frutescens  C. pubescens (Kim et al., 2014)

a. Capsicum annuum.L widely distributed pepper species size: 1–25 cm hotness extends from mild slightly sweet bell pepper to small but very hot jalapeño  Acuminate known as cayenne pepper (Edwards et al., 2015)

b. Capsicum chinense Originated in the Caribbean Hottest species known, Habeneros and Scotch Bonnet. Intense spiciness, aroma.  Prefer a damp, tropical climate Fruity aroma absent from all other species (Weinberger et al., 2007)

c. Capsicum frutescens  usually has small — only 1–3 cm long — “hot” fruit, and distinguishes itself through a characteristic aroma. Well-known varieties include piri-piri (African devil) Thai chili (bird’s eye) variety “Tabasco” serves as the basis for the well-known sauce (Edwards et al., 2015)

d. Capsicum baccatum (“berry-like”) came originally from Bolivia  C. baccatum var. pendulum is called “Aji” in South America (Scaldaferro et al., 2018)

e. Capsicum pubescens  (“hairy”) grows especially in higher regions of the Andes Seeds are black. Representative varieties include Rocoto (Bolivia, Peru) and Manzano (Mexico). C. pubescensis the only Capsicum species tolerant to light frost (Caballero et al., 2017)

F. Applications Baked dishes Stuffed dishes Stews Salsa Decorating agent in pizza Pickles For stuffing Flavoring agent (Sachan et al., 2018)

1. Salad

2. Stuffed dishes

3. Salsa

4. Decorating agent in pizza

5. Flavouring agent

G. Nutraceuticals Applied to skin for pain and swelling Skin for insect bites Arthritis Auscle Cartilage pain Chapped lips Acne (Joshi et al 2017)

a. Capsicum cayenne powder Metabolism-boosting properties Reduce Hunger Lower Blood Pressure Digestive Health Relieve Pain Improve Psoriasis Reduce Cancer Risk Easy to Add to Your Diet (Raiola,2014)

b. Capsicum food supplement Contain active ingredient capsaicin helps to widen Blood vessels Increase blood flow (Tucker et al., 2018)

c. Capsicum essential oil Muscle rub Sport rub Pain relief (Prabhu et al., 2014)

H. Disadvantages Damage and broken skin Surgery Irritation Burning Itching Kidney and liver damage Stomach pain (Birkas et al., 2016)

References Dias, J. S. 2012. Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Vegetable a review. Food and Nutritional Science. 3(10):1354. Edwards, S. E., da Costa Rocha, I., Williamson, E. M. and Heinrich, M. 2015. Capsicum annuum L., C. frutescens L., C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav. and other Capsicum spp. Phytopharmacy An Evidence-Based Guide to Herbal Medicinal Products. 103. Huang, S. 2010. Global trade of fruits and vegetable and the role of consumer demand. Trade, food diet and health perspectives and policy options. 60-76. Kim, S., Park, M., Yeom, S. I., Kim, Y. M., Lee, J. M., Lee, H. A. and Jung, K. 2014. Genome sequence of the hot pepper provides insights into the evolution of pungency in Capsicum species. Nature genetic. 46(3):270. Passioura, J. 2006. The drought environment physical, biological and agricultural perspectives. Journal of Experimental Botany. 58(2):113-117.

Conti… Martinez, A. L. A., Ragassi, C. F., Buso, G. S. C., and Reifschneider, F. J. B. 2017. Variability among Capsicum baccatum accessions from Goiá s, Brazil, assessed by morphological traits and molecular markers. Genetics and Molecular Research. 16(3). Ranjan, S., Dasgupta, N., Walia, N., Thara Chand, C., and Ramalingam, C. (2017). Microwave blanching: an emerging trend in food engineering and its effects on Capsicum annuum L. Journal of Food Process Engineering. 40(2):12411. Rakmai, J., Cheirsilp, B., Mejuto, J. C., Torrado-Agrasar, A., and Simal-Gándara, J. 2017. Physico-chemical characterization and evaluation of bio-efficacies of black pepper essential oil encapsulated in hydroxypropyl-beta- cyclodextrin. Food Hydrocolloids. 65:157-164. Scaldaferro, M. A., Barboza, G. E. and Acosta, M. C. 2018. Evolutionary history of the chili pepper Capsicum baccatum L.(Solanaceae) domestication in South America and natural diversification in the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 124(3):466-478.

Weinberger, K. and Lumpkin, T. A. 2007 Weinberger, K. and Lumpkin, T. A. 2007. Diversification into horticulture and poverty reduction a research agenda. World Development. 35(8):1464-1480.