Scoville Heat Units Research Articles

Some like it hottest

It is an unpleasant thought but the story goes that when the French were involved militarily in Mexico in the 19th century, the corpses of their dead were fed upon by wolves while local soldiers were left alone because of the high chilli content of the Mexican diet. 1 Davidson A The Oxford companion to food. Oxford University Press, Oxford1999: 171 Google Scholar There are plenty of myths surrounding Capsicum spp so the report on April 1, the one day in the year when the press sets out to mislead readers just for fun, that the world's hottest chilli had been found (again) may have raised a few eyebrows. 2 de Bruxelles S The chilli so hot you need gloves. Times (London), April 1, 2006. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2113507,00.html Google Scholar The fact that this fiery specimen had been bred in southwest England rather than, say, South America or south Asia seemed to confirm the suspicion. Yet the claim is true; the Dorset Naga chilli scored around 900 000 on the Scoville scale on independent testing in the US. (In 1912, while working for the Parke Davis pharmaceutical company, Wilbur Scoville devised a taste dilution test for the heat of chillis). Before April 1 of this year, the record was generally thought to have been held by a habañero, scoring up to 570 000 Scoville units, but the current title-holder has some way to go because pure capsaicin comes in at 15 million or more. 3 Anon Wilbur Scoville & pepper chemistry. http://www.g6csy.net/chile/scoville.htmlDate: March 6, 2005 Google Scholar

Oleoresin yield and 6-gingerol in two varieties of Nigerian ginger (<i>Zingiberis officinale Roscoe</i>) at various maturity stages

Two varieties of ginger at various maturity stages were extracted with acetone to obtain ginger oleoresins which were quantitatively estimated for the 6-gingerol content and pungency. The results showed that the yield of oleoresins ranged within 86-140g.kg -1 in both ginger varieties with UG14 giving the highest yield and UG26 the lowest. In terms of pungency the range was within 60,000–120,000 scoville heat units in the two varieties with UG18 giving the highest and UG16 the lowest. In terms of the yield of 6- gingerol the range was within 133-216g.kg -1 of oleoresin. The molar extinction coefficient of the standard gingerol used was 3116 mole -1 cm -1 at 282nm. Ginger could be harvested from 4 months maturity after planting for a good yield of oleoresin and 6-gingerol. Keywords : ginger oleoresin, 6-gingerol, extraction, maturity, drying, harvesting Nigerian Food Journal Vol. 23 2005: 91-106

PREDICTING INTERSTIMULUS INTERVALS BETWEEN SAMPLES FOR CAPSAICIN‐CONTAINING SALSA WITH A RANGE OF HEAT LEVELS

ABSTRACT A model was developed to predict an optimal interstimulus interval during testing for samples of products (such as salsa) that contain capsaicin. Oral “heat burn” intensity for four levels of salsa (mild, 25,000 Scoville Heat Units [SHU]; medium, 70,000 SHU; hot, 130,000 SHU; and extra hot, 250,000 SHU) was evaluated over time using a trained, experienced five‐member descriptive sensory analysis panel. As capsaicin concentrations increased, the time it took for heat perception in the mouth to return to a negligible sensory value increased – a result of the higher amount of heat burn that must dissipate and a slower rate of decay after samples with more intense heat burn. Although a slight sensitization trend may occur with mild and medium salsas, and a slight trend toward desensitization may occur for the hot sample, the maximum intensity ratings after repeated tastings were not significantly different, and real perceptual differences may not exist. Two models were developed that can be used to predict the time required between samples – one based on SHU values and the other based on initial sensory heat score. This information can be used by sensory researchers to approximate the necessary interstimulus interval between salsa samples during sensory testing by trained panels to avoid carryover effects from one sample to another.

`NuMex Suave Red' and `NuMex Suave Orange' Mild Capsicum chinense Cultivars

The New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of ‘NuMex Suave Red’ and ‘NuMex Suave Orange’ open-pollinated Capsicum chinense Jacq. cultivars. The species C. chinense contains some of the most pungent pod types within chiles (Capsicum spp.) (Bosland and Votava, 2000). Pungent cultivars within C. chinense typically register 250,000 to 300,000 Scoville heat units (SHU) (Zewdie and Bosland, 2001). No mild C. chinense cultivars are commercially available at this time. ‘NuMex Suave Red’ and ‘NuMex Suave Orange’ exhibit very low pungency levels and fill a unique niche in C. chinense cultivars.

Capsaicin Content of West Indies Hot Pepper Cultivars Using Colorimetric and Chromatographic Techniques

Colorimetric and chromatographic methods were used to assess capsaicinoid levels in a pungent Caribbean-grown pepper collection comprising 28 accessions of Capsicum chinense and one each of C. annuum and C. frutescens. Two colorimetric methods, one commonly used and attributed to Bajaj (1980) and a modification of the Bajaj method were also compared for congruity and ease of use. Capsaicin content of the cultivars ranged from 37.6 to 497.0 mg/100 g in ripe fruits and 27.8 to 404.5 mg/100 g in green fruit, as determined by Bajaj's method. The corresponding Scoville units of pungency varied from 15,000 to 300,000 for ripe fruit and 7,500 to 270,000 for green fruit. Levels of capsaicin assessed by the modified Bajaj method varied from 15.0 to 402.4 mg/100 g and 13.7 to 356.4 mg/100 g in ripe and green fruit, respectively. On the basis of capsaicin levels assessed by each colorimetric method, the pepper cultivars were differentiated into seven distinct pungency groups. For each method, similar groupings of cultivars were observed for ripe and green fruit and groups of the same numerical designation were mainly comprised of common assessions. These results indicate that the two colorimetric methods generally agree. In contrast, the modified colorimetric method was more efficient than Bajaj's procedure, which required pretreatment of pepper extracts to remove the extracting solvent by evaporation and interfering chromogenic pigments by column chromatography. Phase separation of capsaicin and interfering pigments in pepper extracts by use of dilute acid was the only pretreatment required in the modified Bajaj method before colorimetry. High performance liquid chromatography performed on fruit extracts of the cultivars revealed the presence of the capsaicinoids capsaicin, homocapsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, and homodihydrocapsaicin. Capsaicin and homocapsaicin were detected in greater abundance than dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin in fruit of all cultivars. Homodihydrocapsaicin was the least abundant of the capsaicinoids and was generally absent in ripe fruit.

Field evaluation of capsaicin as a rodent aversion agent for poultry feed.

Developing additional techniques for reducing animal feed contamination by rodents and controlling rodent populations is critical to efforts aimed at reducing the occurrence of Salmonella spp infection on poultry farms. Capsaicin, a compound found in chili peppers of the genus Capsicum, produces a burning sensation in the mouth of mammals and is used effectively as an animal deterrent for some pest species. Applied to poultry feed, capsaicin may be effective as an aversive agent to deter rodent feeding and enhance acceptability of rodenticide baits. We tested capsaicin-treated poultry diets (2000 and 3000 Scoville Heat Units, SHU) in no-choice feeding trials at four active New York farms in the winter of 1997-1998. At all farms, consumption of the 2000 SHU diet by rodents (Norway rats, Rattus norvegicus (Berk), and house mice, Mus musculus L) was significantly less than consumption of a control diet. Consumption of the 3000 SHU diet by rodents was significantly less than consumption of a control diet at three of the four farms. Overall, consumption of treated diets was 58-97% and 55-98% less than consumption of the control diet, for the 2000 and 3000 SHU diets, respectively. These reductions appeared to be related closely to the availability of alternative feed sources at these farms. Two-choice feeding trials involving a rodenticide bait (0.05 g kg(-1) brodifacoum) and the 3000 SHU diet demonstrated that Norway rats preferred the rodenticide to the capsaicin-treated poultry feed. Overall, rodenticide bait acceptance was high (95.6%) when offered simultaneously with capsaicin-treated poultry feed. Although poultry managers must utilize several techniques to manage rodent pests, the use of capsaicin-treated diets to reduce feed losses and increase rodenticide bait acceptance appears promising. Use of capsaicin-treated feed on poultry farms may substantially reduce feed contamination by rodents and ultimately the incidence of Salmonella infection in poultry.

Colour degradation and rheology of green chilli puree during thermal processing

The kinetics of degradation of both green‐ and total‐colour of green chilli puree was studied at selected temperatures (50–90 °C). A fractional conversion concept was applied to determine the kinetic parameters. The degradation of green‐ and total‐colour followed first order reaction kinetics. In the case of green colour the data was based on changes in Hunter –a value while L × a × b was found to adequately represent total colour change. Dependence of the rate constant during heat treatment obeyed the Arrhenius relationship. The activation energy values for green‐ and total‐colour degradation were 23.04 and 25.02 kJ mol–1, respectively. These results indicated that total colour should be used as the quality indicator during thermal processing of green chilli puree. The pungency of green chilli puree decreased during thermal processing as the capsaicin content was reduced from 559 to 441 μg g–1 while the Scoville heat unit decreased from 8500 to 7480. The puree behaved as a shear‐thinning fluid and the flow activation energy at 100 r.p.m. equalled 19.22 kJ mol–1.

Quantitative Analysis of Capsaicinoids in Fresh Peppers, Oleoresin Capsicum and Pepper Spray Products

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify the predominant capsaicinoid analogues in extracts of fresh peppers, in oleoresin capsicum, and pepper sprays. The concentration of capsaicinoids in fresh peppers was variable. Variability was dependent upon the relative pungency of the pepper type and geographical origin of the pepper. Nonivamide was conclusively identified in the extracts of fresh peppers, despite numerous reports that nonivamide was not a natural product. In the oleoresin capsicum samples, the pungency was proportional to the total concentration of capsaicinoids and was related by a factor of approximately 15,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)/microg of total capsaicinoids. The principle analogues detected in oleoresin capsicum were capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin and appeared to be the analogues primarily responsible for the pungency of the sample. The analysis of selected samples of commercially available pepper spray products also demonstrated variability in the capsaicinoid concentrations. Variability was observed among products obtained from different manufacturers as well as from different product lots from the same manufacturer. These data indicate that commercial pepper products are not standardized for capsaicinoid content even though they are classified by SHU. Variability in the capsaicinoid concentrations in oleoresin capsicum-based self-defense weapons could alter potency and ultimately jeopardize the safety and health of users and assailants.

Determination of capsaicinoids in low pungency paprika

Capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and nordihydrocapsaicin were determined in paprika powders and oleoresins after clean-up on silica and aluminium oxide with controlled activity followed by isocratic reverse-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) with fluorescence detection. Caprylic acid vanillylamide (CVA) was synthesized for use as internal standard. Samples with less than 0.6 μg/g (10 Scoville Heat Units) were analysed.

Liquid Chromatographic Method for Determining Capsaicinoids in Capsicums and Their Extractives: Collaborative Study

Abstract Sixteen laboratories participated in an AOAC–American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) collaborative study of a liquid chromatographic (LC) method for determining capsaicinoids in capsicums and their extractives. Capsicums are extracted with ethanol by refluxing and then filtered. Capsaicinoids in the filtrate are separated by re- versed-phase LC and detected spectrophotometri� cally with external standard quantitation. Participants analyzed 6 ground capsicum and 3 oleoresin products as 12 samples from a mixed scheme of blind duplicates and Youden matched pairs. Average repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations (sr and sR, respectively) and average relative standard deviations (RSDr and RSDR, respectively) for ground red pepper were as follows: sr, 610 Scoville heat units (SHU); sR, 1730 SHU; RSDr, 1.7%; RSDR, 4.9%. For ground chili peppers, the values were sr, 60 SHU; sR, 160 SHU; RSDr, 4.0%; RSDR, 10.6%. For oleoresin red pepper, the averages were sr, 46820 SHU; sR, 54990 SHU; RSDr, 8.5%; RSDR, 11.2%. The LC method has been adopted first action by AOAC INTERNATIONAL.

Pungency threshold of capsaicin produced byin vitroculture of placental tissues ofcapsicum frutescensmill.

Abstract Production of capsaicin in free and immobilized placenta was compared in order to assess their capsaicin production ability. In immobilized placenta, maximum accumulation of capsaicin was on the 14th day of culture with a production of 2045 ug/culture, whereas in free placenta, the accumulation reached maximum on the 7th day (2050ug/culture). It was found that there was no significant difference between free and immobilized placenta in terms of capsaicin production, suggesting that immobilization is not necessary to enhance capsaicin accumulation in piacentai tissue. Pungency threshold of capsaicin produced in in vitro grown free piacentai tissues of Capsicum frutescens was done by Scoville heat units (SHU) method. Pungency analysis of capsaicin produced in free piacentai tissue showed that on day zero, pungency of tissue culture produced capsaicin (0.2267x105 SHU) was comparable to standard natural capsaicin (0.222×105 SHU), while on the 3rd day pungency of tissue culture produced capsaicin (0.3639×105 SHU) was slightly lower than standard natural capsaicin (0.4415×105 SHU).

Rapid quality control procedure for the determination of Scoville heat units and the detection of chillies in black pepper, via high-performance liquid chromatography

Rapid quality control procedure for the determination of Scoville heat units and the detection of chillies in black pepper, via high-performance liquid chromatography

Jalapeno Pepper Pungency as a Quality Control Factor for Process Cheese

Objectives were to compare methods of pungency quantitation, to survey pungency in jalapenos from various sources, and to determine if sensory evaluations of process cheese pungencies would vary according to source of pepper or pepper concentration. Capsaicin (major pungency compound) was measured by the Scoville method, ultraviolet absorbance, and by gas-liquid chromatography. Jalapenos from eight sources (including fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, and dried) varied in pungency from 3,400 to 15,000 Scoville units, and capsaicin means were 1.01, 1.11, and 1.23 mg/g dried pepper, as measured by ultraviolet absorption, gas liquid chromatography, and the Scoville method, respectively. Correlation coefficients for the Scoville method and ultraviolet absorption were .96 and .90. Selected peppers, ranging from 3,400 to 12,200 Scoville units, were used to formulate process cheese with 3% peppers. A 500 Scoville unit difference between pepper lots was detected in cheese made from milder peppers, 3,400 versus 3,900 Scoville units, but for moderately hot peppers, 7,900 versus 8,800 Scoville units, a 900 Scoville unit difference was not detected. Process cheese also was formulated with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% peppers from a single source (pickled, 3,900 Scoville units). For 1 to 4%, panelists noted differences in pungency when the pepper percentage changed two units; 5% was hotter than 4%. All three quantitation methods were acceptable. To minimize sensory differences in process cheese with jalapeno peppers, the capsaicin content should be standardized.

Paper Chromatographic Determination of Total Capsaicinoids in Capsicums and Their Oleoresins with Precision, Reproducibility, and Validation Through Correlation with Pungency in Scoville Units

Abstract Total capsaicinoids is an important quality index of capsicums. It has been recommended that this index can be reliably estimated by a simple and rapid paper chromatographic method. Details of the method have been critically studied to establish the precision and reproducibility. The repeatability and reproducibility of the method were ±3.12% and ±6.63% (relative to mean), respectively. In addition, the values by this method for samples of capsicums and their oleoresins, varying over a wide range of capsaicinoids content, were validated by a high correlation (r ≃ 1) to pungency values by the standardized threshold dilution method. In light of the results presented, it is suggested that the total capsaicinoids be accepted as an index of pungency.

Gas-Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Capsaicin

A simple and accurate method has been developed for the quantitative determination of capsaicin in capsicum spices and their oleosresins. Capsaicin is extracted with acetone and separated from interfering substances, using an activated alumina column. The column is first eluted with acetone, and then the capsaicin is eluted with acetone-methanol-water (75+25+2). The capsaicin is quantitated by gas-liquid chromatography, using a Carbowax 20M-Teflon column and piperine as an internal standard. Results can be calculated as per cent capsaicin or Scoville units. Recovery of added capsaicin averaged 101%.

A RAPID GAS‐LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION FOR CAPSAICIN IN CAPSICUM SPICES

SUMMARYThe trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivative of capsaicin was prepared for standard capsaicin, weighed portions of oleoresins and the residues obtained from the ethyl acetate extraction of red peppers. The derivative was quantitatively measured using a gas‐liquid chromatographic (GLC) system equipped with an alkali flame detector approximately 25 times more sensitive to capsaicin than the unmodified flame ionization detector. Capsaicin recoveries from 5 fortified oleoresins ranged from 96.0–103.0%. Calculated and declared Scoville units showed good agreement (96.6–109.2%) for 6 capsicum spices. Vanillyl N‐nonoylamide and vanillyl N‐decoylamide were snythesized and the TMS derivatives prepared. Chromatograms obtained for these synthetic analogs of capsaicin showed that they would be detected by the described technique if used as adulterants in capsicum spices.