Evaluation of capsaicin in chili peppers and hot sauces by MISER HPLC-ESIMS

Abstract

The advantages of MISER LC-MS (high throughput, simple readout of results) are demonstrated in the analysis of E-capsaicin in chili peppers and hot sauces. The ready availability of samples with a wide range of capsaicin content and the fast and easy detection using the MISER (Multiple Injections in a Single Experimental Run) technique makes this a potentially useful experiment to introduce novices to the important analytical technique of LC-MS. In this study we describe a simple and rapid chromatographic method for evaluation of E-capsaicin in chili peppers using HPLC with 80% organic eluent in a Poroshell SB-C18 column coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection and MISER analysis. The misergrams obtained from continuous sample injections every 0.73 min allow the convenient simultaneous visualization of the outcomes of multiple experiments represented as single chromatograms. A considerable variation in E-capsaicin levels is clearly visualized among different types of peppers and sauces, with the ghost pepper (Bhut Jolokia) showing the highest E-capsaicin concentration of the peppers sampled.