Identification of Amino Acids and B-Vitamins in Scotch Bonnet Pepper (Capsicum chinense) Using an HPLC-UV Detector

Abstract

The scotch bonnet pepper (Capsicum chinense), which is grown in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, is frequently used to spice up foods and soups in addition to a variety of therapeutic benefits. They contain vitamins and amino acids and can be used to treat pain disorders including headaches, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and severe diabetic neuropathy. The concentration of amino acids and vitamins B₁, B₂, and B₆ in the flesh and seed of red and green scotch bonnet peppers, on the other hand, remains unknown, which prompts this inquiry. On a nearby farm in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, red and green scotch bonnet peppers were picked, split into flesh and seed, mixed, air-dried at room temperature and then ground into powder. With the aid of an HPLC-UV detector, the samples were tested for their amino acid content and vitamin B₁, B₂, and B₆ identification. For the red scotch bonnet pepper, 17 amino acids were identified at different retention times and classified as essential and non-essential. Eighteen amino acids were discovered in the seed and eighteen in the flesh. However, serine was only found in the seed and not in the flesh. Furthermore, eighteen acids were identified in the flesh and seed of green pepper, eighteen in the flesh, and fifteen in the seed. Serine has only been detected in the flesh and in the flesh and seed. The vitamins B₁, B₂, and B₆ were all present in the seed and flesh of the red and green peppers studied with varying heights and retention times. The abundance of serine in the green pepper seed and flesh, as well as the availability of eighteen amino acids shows that it is more nutritious than the red pepper.