Defensin‐like peptides from Capsicum chinense induce increased ROS, loss of mitochondrial functionality, and reduced growth of the fungus Colletotrichum scovillei

In the present study, we identified and characterized two defensin‐like peptides in an antifungal fraction obtained from Capsicum chinense pepper fruits and inhibited the growth of Colletotrichum scovillei, which causes anthracnose. AMPs were extracted from the pericarp of C. chinense peppers and subjected to ion exchange, molecular exclusion, and reversed‐phase in a high‐performance liquid chromatography system. We investigated the endogenous increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), the loss of mitochondrial functioning, and the ultrastructure of hyphae. The peptides obtained from the G3 fraction through molecular exclusion chromatography were subsequently fractionated using reverse‐phase chromatography, resulting in the isolation of fractions F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5. The F1‐Fraction suppressed C. scovillei growth by 90, 70.4, and 44% at 100, 50, and 25 μg mL−1, respectively. At 24 h, the IC50 and minimum inhibitory concentration were 21.5 μg mL−1 and 200 μg mL−1, respectively. We found an increase in ROS, which may have resulted in an oxidative burst, loss of mitochondrial functioning, and cytoplasm retraction, as well as an increase in autophagic vacuoles. MS/MS analysis of the F1‐Fraction indicated the presence of two defensin‐like proteins, and we were able to identify the expression of three defensin sequences in our C. chinense fruit extract. The F1‐Fraction was also found to inhibit the activity of insect α‐amylases. In summary, the F1‐Fraction of C. chinense exhibits antifungal activity against a major pepper pathogen that causes anthracnose. These defensin‐like compounds are promising prospects for further research into antifungal and insecticide biotechnology applications. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. The F1‐Fraction containing defensin‐like peptides suppressed C. scovillei growth by 90, 70.4, and 44% at 100, 50, and 25 μg mL−1, respectively. We found an increase in ROS, which may have resulted in an oxidative burst, loss of mitochondrial functioning, and cytoplasm retraction.