Some Like It HOT

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Some Like It HOT!

• Some Not
• A capsaicin investigation

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Types of Pepper We Investigated
Poblano
Habanero
Long
Jalapeno
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Capsaicin
Dihydrocapsaicin
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Yearn for the Burn
Pedicle attaches to the plant and provides
nourishment
Seeds add flavor and are very HOT 80 of
capsaicin is found in the seeds and placenta
Peppers flavor is distributed throughout its meat
Placenta houses and nourishes the seeds the
white ribs that run down the middle and sides
of a pepper capsaicinoids are found here
Glands secrete capsaicin
Theapex pepper blossoms tip
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Experimental Procedure

• Pepper Preparation
• Chop, Blend, Weigh
• Capsaicin Extraction
• Stir, Filtrate, Dilute
• Stock Preparation
• Concentrations 50- 250ppm
• HPLC
• Solid Phase Extraction, Inject

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Calibration Curve for Capsaicin
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y 0.0715x 0.048
18
2
R
0.9957
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14
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Peak Height (cm)
10
8
6
4
2
0
25
75
125
175
225
275
Concentraion (ppm)
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Calibration Curve for Dihydrocapsaicin
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5
y 0.0222x - 0.3865
2
R
0.9811
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Peak Height (cm)
3
2
1
0
25
75
125
175
225
275
Concentration (ppm)
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ChromatographRetention TimesCapsaicin
4.63cmDihydrocapsaicin 6.14cm
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Kyle and Klinton K2
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Steve-O
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Peppers in Acetonitrile
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Results
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Image Name Scoville
Units Native Regions
Yucatan, Caribbean
80K-300K
Habanero
Chihauhau, Texas, SW U.S.
2,500-10K
Jalapeno
Mexico City, California
2,500-3,000
Poblano
Tabasco
2,500
supermarket
Long or Anaheim Chile
500-2,500
California
Pure Capsaicin
Chemistry Labs
16 Million
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Comparison
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Problems Encountered

• Irritation coughing etc.
• Pepper/Sauce in weighable amount
• C-18 Cartridges gave no result
• Concentration Poblano extremely low
• Sensitivity of instrument (AUFS changed for each
  pepper)
• Solutions sitting over 3 weeks
• Different types of the same pepper exist
• Different reported ranges for SHU
• Only looked at 2 of 5 types of capsaicin

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Future Investigations

• Pepper Spray
• Relationship with color and SHU
• Try old taste test method and see how it
  compares
• Pain relief cream

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Thank you for your time and enjoy the chips n
salsa!
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References

• Slide1 (image) http//www.dancefreak.com/images3/
  pepper.jpg
• Slide 2 Peppers from Price Chopper, Worcester MA
• Slide 3
• Slide 4 http//www.rozylowicz.com/yearn-to-burn.h
  tml
• Slide 5 Huang, Jiping, and Mabury, Scott A., J.
  of Chem. Educ. 77 (2000) 1630.
• Slide 12 (image) http//www.ece.purdue.edu/ace/w
  ater2/sampleimages.html
• Slide 12 Batchelor, J.D. Jones, B. T. J. Chem.
  Educ. 2000, 77, 266-2667. Determination of the
  Scoville Heat Value for Hot Sauces and Chilies
  An HPLC Experiment Supplement .
  http//spiepho.sbc.edu/chem342/Batchelor,Jones_HPL
  C_supp.pdf
• Slide 13 A Pictorial Guide to Peppers.
  http//users.visi.net/mandy/pepguide.html
• Slide 16 (image)http//www.photo.net/photo/pcd168
  0/chili-peppers-35