Applications of Capsaicin in the Food Industry

The change in the eating habits of a considerable portion of the population, aiming at a better quality of life, has required the food industry to search for healthier formulations. This is especially evident in the use of natural additives that ensure adequate sensory, microbiological, chemical, and physical characteristics. In addition, increasing shelf life is an important requirement to guarantee quality to industrialized products in a highly competitive market. Chili peppers are an interesting natural source because they present differentiated characteristics that contribute to the consumer’s health, besides providing color, flavor, and spiciness to the preparations. The high nutritional value also makes them a differentiated product, because they are good sources of vitamins, especially C and A, and because they have several minerals that are essential to the perfect functioning of the body. In this context, we have the capsaicin, a phytochemical found in hot pepper fruit extract, that belongs to capsaicinoids group, which shows high nutritional value. The capsaicin is accumulated in the placenta surface tissue, only released when the fruit is cut. In this chapter, we highlight the use of capsaicin as an additive and pigment, besides its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties in the food industry.