Chemical Constituents of Pungent Spice Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) from Macedonian Origin

Abstract

In this paper the chemical constituents of the pungent spice pepperCapsicum annuum L. ssp. Microcarpum from Macedonian origin are estimated.Content of moisture, proteins and soluble sugars is 9.60%, 6.68% and 20.33%,respectively. Color capacity of the pungent spice pepper is 5.60 gcapsanthin/kg pepper dry matter.The influence of organic solvents on the pepper oleoresin extractionand contents of colored components and capsaicin content in it is also studied.The highest quantity of pepper oleoresin (25%) is obtained using ethanol asextraction means. In the pepper oleoresin extracted by diethyl ether the highestconcentration of color expressed as a capsanthin is determined. When n-hexaneis applied during pepper extraction, in the color extracted quantity the redfraction is 93.83% from the total color contents in the pepper oleoresin.According to the highest capsaicin content of 1.53% in the pepperoleoresin, benzene is most suitable as compared to the other investigatedextraction means.