Analysis of Capsaicin and Related Compounds by Modern Chromatographic Methods

Capsaicin is a major bioactive of chilli pepper, belonging to the genus Capsicum (family Solanaceae). It is the most pungent compound of hot peppers with marked pharmacological properties. Chilli pepper also possesses other chemical compounds, such as dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, carotenoids, oleoresin, flavonoids, etc., and the selectivity of these bioactive compounds has been done to meet up the increasing market demand. An accurate analysis of a sample’s chemical composition can provide priceless data that will help solve chemical issues and guarantee the quality of a chemical formulation or product. There is an increased demand for novel analytical techniques over the last 10 years that are more reliable, accurate and quick to implement. Chromatographic techniques are regularly utilized during analytical processes for separating, determining and identifying wide-ranging analytes existing in samples having multifaceted and sometimes varying matrices. For analysing capsaicin and related compounds, various modern techniques, including high-performance liquid chromatography, ultra-performance liquid chromatography, high-performance thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, etc., have been extensively used. This chapter therefore discusses on different chromatographic approaches used for separating and/or identifying the capsaicin contents in a mixture.