**Author details**

Capsicum

**Figure 1.**

risk of heart attacks [3].

*(A) Capsaicin. (B) Dihydrocapsaicin.*

diseases.

**5. Conclusion**

deficiency in humans.

**Acknowledgements**

**Conflict of interest**

of capsaicin show high antioxidant level [32]. Besides the nutritional benefits, it is also responsible for medical therapeutic and pharmacological uses [34]. Capsaicin has an important role in relieving sore throats, fever, and cold symptoms and also enhances the circulation of blood and strengthens the arteries, thus reducing the

Capsaicin is also used as an anti-irritant balm for external use and as painkiller in some topical ointments, nasal sprays, and skin patches and also used in the form of cream for short-term relaxation of muscles and pains related to arthritis, back pain, and other stresses [35]. It also has an antidiabetic activity by enhancing the insulin secretion and releasing bound insulin. Capsaicin helps in producing heat within the body and consumes oxygen which simultaneously burns calories in the body and helps in losing weight [30]. Thus, incorporating pepper-rich food in everday diet can be useful in enduring pursuit of eliminating micronutrient deficiency. Hot pepper fruits were enriched with antioxidants which protect the human body from harmful effects of free radicals, and it develops resistance against different

Advanced technologies are being used to combat human micronutrient deficiency in developing countries, where poor people are mostly at this risk. In tropical countries, rural farmers traditionally cultivate wide range of vegetables; among them chili is grown globally, and India is the most important producer and exporter of hot pepper which consists of wide range of micro- and macronutrients. In this chapter, it has been concluded that the chilies are cost-effective vegetables that are significantly rich in essential micro- and macronutrients and also possess healthy components to support human health conditions. The presence of antioxidants and phytochemicals in chili increases its importance in controlling the diseases. Integrating hot pepper in our regular diet can be supportive to alleviate nutrient

The authors thank the head of the department, Department of Biotechnology,

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest on this book chapter.

Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation deemed to be University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, for providing support in writing this book chapter.

**92**

S.R. Krishna Motukuri\* and Nallamothu Jaswanthi Department of Biotechnology, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India

\*Address all correspondence to: msrkrishna81@gmail.com

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
