Medicinal uses and health benefits of chili pepper (Capsicum spp.): a review

Pepper have been grown and used in Eritrea for long period of time and is part of the Eritrean food culture.Eritrean pepper germplasm was found to be highly diversified that can serve different uses and purposes.Globally pepper is known for its high nutritional value, health benefits and medicinal properties.It is reach (Rich) in vitamins and minerals, has antimicrobial and anticancer properties.Chili pepper has preventive and therapeutic properties for many ailments such as different types of cancer, rheumatism, stiff joints, bronchitis and chest colds with cough and headache, arthritis, heart arrhythmias and many other ailments.Despite traditional medicine including medicinal plants is widely practiced in Eritrea, there is no evidence that pepper was used as medicinal plant.Thus the purpose of this review was to spotlight on the medicinal uses and health benefits of this well-known and widely consumed plant for encouraging research works to address issues related to safety, efficacy, quality, and development and avoid potential risks, especially those linked to aflatoxin contamination.