JCE Online Journal of Chemical Education
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print
   Current Issue
 Previous Issues
 Supplements
 Search JCE Index

JCE Digital Library
   DigiDemos
 QBank
 SymMath
 WebWare

JCE Software
   Latest Releases
 Software & Video
 Downloads
 Support

Only@JCE Online
   JCE Online Store
 JCE HS CLIC
 JCE Discussion Forums
   Biographical Snapshots
 ChemEd Resource Shelf
 Featured Molecules
 Hal's Picks
 Project Chemlab
 Reviewed WWW Sites
 "Web-Ed" Articles

About JCE
   Features
 Publications
 Operations
 Outreach
 Contact Us


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > February  >
In the Laboratory
Pungency Quantitation of Hot Pepper Sauces Using HPLC
Thomas A. Betts
Kutztown University, Department of Physical Sciences, Kutztown, PA 19530
Cover
February 1999
Vol. 76 No. 2
p. 240
Abstract
A class of compounds known as capsaicinoids are responsible for the "heat" of hot peppers. To determine the pungency of a particular pepper or pepper product, one may quantify the capsaicinoids and relate those concentrations to the perceived heat. The format of the laboratory described here allows students to collectively develop an HPLC method for the quantitation of the two predominant capsaicinoids (capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin) in hot-pepper products. Each small group of students investigated one of the following aspects of the method: detector wavelength, mobile-phase composition, extraction of capsaicinoids, calibration, and quantitation. The format of the lab forced students to communicate and cooperate to develop this method. The resulting HPLC method involves extraction with acetonitrile followed by solid-phase extraction clean-up, an isocratic 80:20 methanol-water mobile phase, a 4.6 mm by 25 cm C-18 column, and UV absorbance detection at 284 nm. The method developed by the students was then applied to the quantitation of capsaicinoids in a variety of hot pepper sauces.

See Editor's Note re: Hazards pertaining to this article.
More Information
*  Citation
 Betts, Thomas A. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 240.
*  Keywords
 Instrumental Methods; Chromatography; Food Science
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 15, 1999
June 22, 2005
Link to Editor's Note added (April 2004).
<< Previous Article Table of Contents Next Article >>
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999 > February > Page 240


Subscriptions
 Subscription Info
 Order Forms

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
 JCE HS CLIC

Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission
 Contributors' Corner

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
 Recent Advertisers

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.
 Outreach with JCE

Comments to
jceonline@chem.wisc.edu		 Copyright © Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.
All rights reserved.