Capsaicinoids, Tocopherol, and Sterols Content in Chili (Capsicum sp.) by Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometric Determination

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed for the quantitative determination of capsaicinoids, vitamin E, and phytosterols in chili peppers using a simple extraction technique for rapid screening. These components were extracted with acetonitrile and were injected into gas chromatography attached with mass spectrometry. The mean recovery values for triplicate analysis were between 90.6-99.7%. Besides major capsaicinoids (capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin), four more minor capsaicinoids (nonivamide, nornordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin I and II) were detected in chili samples. alpha-Tocopherol was also detected in the same run along with three phytosterols (campesterol, gamma-sitosterol, and stigmasterol). Variations were observed across the chili sample in all of the constituents except a few minor capsaicinoids. The method was suitable for simultaneous estimation of capsaicinoids, vitamin E, and phytosterols in a single run from any types of pepper. Thus, the method is effective for rapid screening of peppers for its nutraceutical composition using single solvent extraction.