Biotechnological Approaches for Enhanced Production of Capsaicin

Capsaicin compound that is in high demand in the market, owing to its wide pharmacological applications. Apart from drug industry, it is also utilized in the food industry, armed forces and personal defence. Industries producing high-purity research and pharmacological-grade capsaicin still rely on extraction and purification from chili plants. Various biotechnological approaches such as in vitro callus cultivation, elicitor treatments, abiotic and biotic stress, addition of precursors, immobilized cell systems and application of plant growth regulators have been found to be successful in enhancing capsaicin production. Various studies have shown that such approaches can be utilized for industrial-scale production. These are advantageous over enzymatic and chemical synthesis as they are free of hazardous substrates or by-products, give high yield and ensure round-the-year availability of capsaicin. The chapter focuses on chemistry, characterization, pharmacokinetics and action mechanism of capsaicin, various biotechnological approaches for enhanced capsaicin production along with their advantages over traditional methods and future prospects of biotechnology-based production.