Detection of adulterants in white pepper powder (Piper nigrum L.) using thin layer chromatography fingerprint analysis

Abstract

Background: In the production of instant pepper powder, some manufacturers add adulterants to the pepper powder. Objective: This study aimed to detect the presence of corn added in instant white pepper products in the market. Method: The TLC Fingerprint analysis was used. Fingerprints were made using white pepper from three regions in Indonesia: Tasikmalaya, Kalimantan, and Bangka. The corn used as the adulterant came from three regions in Indonesia: West Java, Central Java, and Kalimantan. Extraction was carried out using the maceration method, where 96% ethanol was used as the solvent. TLC patterns were made and visualised under UV light at 254 nm and 366 nm. Chromatogram analysis was performed. Result: Loading PC-2 against PC-1 in PCA with an eigen value of 931.54 indicated the loading score of white pepper was clustered in quadrants 2 and 3, while that of the corn adulterant in quadrants 1 and 4. Discussion:The sample projection on the PCA system used showed that samples A and C are distributed between quadrants 1-2 and 3-4, while sample B is distributed in quadrant 2. Conclusion: Based on the loading results of PC-2 against PC-1, samples A and C contained corn adulterants, while sample B contained other adulterants.