use strict;
use warnings;

use vars qw/@array/;

$_ = "This is list number 12. It contains apples, pears, peaches. Total cost is 5.";

if ( 
    m/contains\s+
      (?:(\w+)(?{push @array, $^N}),\s+)*
      (?:(\w+)(?{push @array, $^N})\.\s+\b)
    /x
) {
    print "@array\n";
}