Determination of Capsaicin and Dihydrocapsaicin in Capsicum Fruit Samples using High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the content of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in Capsicum samples collected from city markets in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), calculate their pungency in Scoville heat units (SHU) and evaluate the average daily intake of capsaicin for the population of Riyadh. The investigated samples consisted of hot chillies, red chillies, green chillies, green peppers, red peppers and yellow peppers. Extraction of capsaicinoids was done using ethanol as solvent, while high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for separation, identification and quantitation of the components. The limit of detection (LOD) of the method was 0.09 and 0.10 µg/g for capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, respectively, while the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.30 and 0.36 µg/g for capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, respectively. Hot chillies showed the highest concentration of capsaicin (4249.0 ± 190.3 µg/g) and the highest pungency level (67984.60 SHU), whereas green peppers had the lowest detected concentration (1.0 ± 0.9 µg/g); green peppers, red peppers and yellow peppers were non pungent. The mean consumption of peppers for Riyadh city population was determined to be 15.5 g/person/day while the daily capsaicin intake was 7.584 mg/person/day.

Effect of Grains of Paradise (GP) Extract Intake on Obesity and Sympathetic Nerve Activity

“…Moreover, GP contains many non-volatile pungent compounds such as 6-paradol, 6-gingerol, and 6-shogaol [13]. These compounds possess a vanillyl moiety, and are structurally similar to capsaicin and capsiate, which are found in chili pepper [14]. It is well known that capsinoids, including capsaicin and capsiate, exert an anti-obesity effect by stimulating SNA and hence BAT thermogenesis [15].…”

Capsaicinoids content and proximate composition of Mexican chili peppers (Capsicumspp.) cultivated in the State of Chihuahua

“…Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin constitute approximately 90% of total capsaicinoids content of chili peppers, capsaicin being the most abundant (Govindarajan, 1986;Iwai, Suzuki, & Fujiwake, 1979;Kawada, Watanare, Katsura, Takami, & Iwai, 1985;Kosuge & Furuta, 1970). The capsaicin content in chili peppers is variable and ranges from 0.1% to 1% of the fruit weight, approximately, but the amount can vary depending on the temperature at which the plant is grown, the age of the fruit, and the light (Al Othman, Ahmed, Habila, & Ghafar, 2011;Tucker, 2001).…”

Unravelling the Mystery of Capsaicin: A Tool to Understand and Treat Pain

“…The capsaicin contents of different peppers have been determined by use of liquid chromatography and range from 0.1 to 4.25 mg/g of pepper (Parrish, 1996;Al Othman et al, 2011). Pepper varieties from Capsicum frutescens, Capsicum annuum, and Capsicum chinense were found to contain 0.22 to 20 mg of total capsaicinoids/g of pepper (dry weight) (Thomas et al, 1998).…”