Cultivar Variation for Capsaicinoid Content in some Processed Products of Chilli

Abstract

Determination of capsaicinoids content in various products from seven chilli cultivars was made. Capsaicin, the major element among capsaicinoids, is found primarily in the fruit of Capsicum to which it provides spicy flavor. Extraction of capsaicin in the present study was done using acetonitrile as the solvent, and High Performance Liquid Chromatography was used for its quantification. Whole dried-fruits of 'Bhut Red' (Capsicum chinense) showed the highest concentration of capsaicin (2.59%) and level of pungency (4,40,000 SHU), whereas, salted mash of 'Lemon Drop' (Capsicum baccatum) had the lowest capsaicin concentration (0.07%) and pungency level (12,000 SHU). As capsaicinoids are important in food and pharmaceutical industries, developing products from selected cultivars of chilli with high pungency and high capsaicinoid content will prove useful in order to ensuring health security.