Characterization of different Capsicum varieties by evaluation of their capsaicinoids content by high performance liquid chromatography, determination of pungency and effect of high temperature.

Alberto González-Zamora,Rebeca Pérez-Morales,Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ortiz,Erick Sierra-Campos,J Guadalupe Luna-Ortega,José L García-Hernández

doi:10.3390/molecules181113471

Alberto González-Zamora, Rebeca Pérez-Morales + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules181113471

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Abstract

The chili pepper is a very important plant used worldwide as a vegetable, as a spice, and as an external medicine. In this work, eight different varieties of Capsicum annuum L. have been characterized by their capsaicinoids content. The chili pepper fruits were cultivated in the Comarca Lagunera region in North of Mexico. The qualitative and quantitative determination of the major and minor capsaicinoids; alkaloids responsible for the pungency level, has been performed by a validated chromatographic procedure (HPLC-DAD) after a preliminary drying step and an opportune extraction procedure. Concentrations of total capsaicinoids varied from a not detectable value for Bell pepper to 31.84 mg g−1 dried weight for Chiltepín. Samples were obtained from plants grown in experimental field and in greenhouse without temperature control, in order to evaluate temperature effect. Analysis of the two principal capsaicinoids in fruits showed that the amount of dihydrocapsaicin was always higher than capsaicin. In addition, our results showed that the content of total capsaicinoids for the varieties Serrano, Puya, Ancho, Guajillo and Bell pepper were increased with high temperature, while the content of total capsaicinoids and Scoville heat units (SHU) for the varieties De árbol and Jalapeño decreased. However, the pungency values found in this study were higher for all varieties analyzed than in other studies.

Highlights

The chili is the fruit of plants that belong to the genus Capsicum, which is comprised of more than 200 varieties grouped into more than 30 species, out of which five are domesticated: C. annuum L., C. baccatum L., C. chinense Jacq., C. frutescens L. and C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav. [1]
In order to characterize capsaicinoids in chili pepper, acetonitrile extracts were prepared from dry fruits of eight different varieties; all of them belonging to C. annuum
Bell pepper is a green pepper with great flavor but not pungency, included in this study as a negative reference for comparison with other chili peppers

Summary

Introduction

The chili is the fruit of plants that belong to the genus Capsicum, which is comprised of more than 200 varieties grouped into more than 30 species, out of which five are domesticated: C. annuum L., C. baccatum L., C. chinense Jacq., C. frutescens L. and C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav. [1]. The plant synthesizes and accumulates capsaicinoids, a group of alkaloids responsible for the hot or spicy flavor, which are located primarily in the tissue of the placenta adjacent to the seeds [4]. Their concentration depends on genotype, fruit maturity, and conditions of cultivation [5]. There are principally five naturally occurring capsaicinoids: capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin and homodihydrocapsaicin (Figure 1). Nordihydrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin and homodihydrocapsaicin are present in pepper, but generally contribute little to the total capsaicinoid concentration and pungency of the fruits [6]. The capsaicinoids have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties, including anticarcinogenic properties that inhibit andogen-dependent growth of breast cancer, colon, prostate and gastric adenocarcinoma [8,9,10]

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