Capsaicinoids:HeatLevelAssay
HPLC
UltraC18
Flavor&FragranceCompounds
GC
Rt-CW20M™F&F
FOODS, FLAVORS,
& FRAGRANCES
19
Flavors & Fragrances
Phone: 800-356-1688 or 814-353-1300
HeatLevelsofSpicyFoods
Thehotness of chili peppers, salsas, andother spicy
foods canbemonitoredusingHPLC.Bymeasuring
the levels of three different capsaicinoid species in
the sample, the heat level in Scoville Heat Units
(SHUs) can be calculated.AOACMethod 995.03 is
a reversedphaseHPLCmethod that calls for aC18
column and acidified water:acetonitrile as the
mobile phase to separatenordihydrocapsaicin, cap-
saicin, anddihydrocapsaicin.This separationcanbe
performedusingan
UltraC18
column.Usingagra-
dient elution program, an efficient separation can
beperformed in less than10minutes.Thehighper-
centageof organic in themobilephaseat the endof
theanalysishelpseluteanystronglyretainedspecies.
Flavor&FragranceVolatiles
Flavor and fragrance analysts have compiled reten-
tion index libraries for thousands of compounds.
Unfortunately, even slight changes in column selec-
tivity can result inmisidentificationof compounds.
With this in mind, Restek developed the
Rtx®-1
F&F
column. This polymer matches the selectivity
requiredby the industry,whileofferinghigher ther-
mal stability. Additionally,
Rt-CW20M™ F&F
columns feature a non-bonded phase designed
specifically for flavorand fragrancecompounds.
Rt-
CW20M™ F&F
columns exhibit better inertness
thanothernon-bondedCarbowax® columns.
Column:
Ultra C18
Cat.#:
9174565
Dimensions:
150 x 4.6mm
Particle size:
5µm
Pore size:
100Å
Conditions:
Mobile phase:
A: 1% acetic acid inwater
B: acetonitrile
Time (min.)
%B
0
50
2
50
9
80
12
80
13
50
Flow:
1.0mL/min.
Temp.:
ambient
Det.:
UV@280nm
Peak List:
1. nordihydrocapsaicin
2. capsaicin
3. dihydrocapsaicin
Sample:
Inj.:
10µL habanero
nugget extract
Conc.:
0.8g sample in 200mL
Solvent:
ethanol
LC_0156
0
2
4
6
8
10 min.
1
2
3
50m, 0.32mm ID, 0.33µm, Carbowax
®
20M or Rt-CW20M
™
F&F (cat.# 12539)
On-column injection of 5ng to 150ng each
compound inmethylene chloride, split 10:1
Carrier gas:
hydrogen, 40cm/sec.
Inj. & det. temp.:
220°C
Oven temp.:
110°C
Rt-CW20M™F&Fcolumn
TraditionalCarbowax®column
9
min.
5
10
15
20
1 2 3
4
6
5
12
11
13
14
15
1 2 3
4
5
12
13
14
8
8
9
6
11
15
1. methyl heptanoate
2. hexanol
3. methyl octanoate
4. nonanal
5. menthone
6. citronellal
7. methyl nonanoate
8. 2,3-butanediol
9. linalool
10. linalyl acetate
11. methyl decanoate
12. menthol
13.
α
-terpineol
14.
γ
-terpineol
15. methyl undecanoate
better response for
2,3-butanediol
min.
5
10
15
20
GC_FF00433
7
10
7 10
for
more
info
Request ApplicationNote Analyzing theHeat Level of Spicy Foods
Using anUltraC18HPLC column (cat.# 59199).
