Research On Chilies Pungency Based On Chemical Substances In Yunnan Province

Because of its special geological position and diversified landforms, Yunnan province has rich zoological and botanical resources. As the most common vegetables and spices, chilis are cultivated in large area in Yunnan province, there are also some rare and precious varieties. However, most studies of chilis at present are focused on collecting, soring up of germplasm resources and traditional morphological evaluation. This paper studied the chemical components contributing to the pungency of chilis and explored the chemical specificity among different kinds of chilis, which would provide theoretical basis for the development and utilization of chilis. The research results are as follows:1. Study of chemical constituents in C. frutescens L. Cv. ShuanlaenseBy means of column chromatography such as silica gel column, alumina column, and macroporous resin column, a compound was isolated from chilis. By modern spectroscopic techniques such as NMR, ESI-MS, the compound was identified as dihydrocapsaicin.2. Analysis of the pungent components in chills by HPLC methodA method of separation and determination of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin was developed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection. The separation was performed with Hanbon Sci.&Tech. Lichrospher C18column (250×4.6mm,5μm) at30℃with the mobile phase of methanol-0.3%phosphoric acid (gradient elution). The flow rate was1.2mL/min, the detection wavelength was280nm. This method was rapid, sensitive, and accurate with good reproducibility. By single factor test and orthogonal test, extraction process of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin was optimized. The suitable process conditions of extraction were as follows:the solvent was75%ethanol solution, the temperature was55℃, the ultrasonic time was50min, the solid-liquid ratio was1:30,3times extracted. The results showed that the yield of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin increased with the elevation increasing but changed in parabola form, which meant the elevation had great influence on chilies pungency.3. Analysis of the pungent and nutrient components in C. frutescens L. Cv. ShuanlaenseFurther analysis of the pungent components in C. frutescens L. Cv. Shuanlaense was made by HPLC-MS method. Five compounds were identified:capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, nornordihydrocapsaicin and N-Vanilly nonanamide. The content of Nordihydrocapsaicin, Nornordihydrocapsaicin and N-Vanilly nonanamide was compared among the15kinds of chills. Through the analysis of nutritional components, it was found that there were many advantageous elements in C. frutescens L. Cv. Shuanlaense, such as Fe, Cu, Zn, K, Mn, Ni.et al. The content of Vc was40.0mg/100g. It was also rich in amino acids, especially essential amino acids. In conclusion, C. frutescens L. Cv. Shuanlaense had good health and nutritional benefits. Howerver, the contents of Hg, Cr and Pb elements were over standard, so it was not suitable for direct edible.