Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Capsaicin from Capsicum annum Grown in Jordan

Abstract

As there is an increasing demand for Capsaicin from pharmaceutical firms worldwide, the aim of the present study is to find a simple, fast, and reproducible method for its extraction from the fruit of capsicum annuum. Soxhlet extraction method using n-hexan as a solvent was used. Capsaicin was isolated and purified using a combination of column chromatography (CC), and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Capsaicin was further identified by a spectroscopic method, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Mass spectroscopy). The extraction yield was 11.5%, and  Capsaicin concentrations in the extract was 8332.3 mg/kg with purity up to 73.95%, then purification of the extract  was done by column chromatography, through using two solvent system until the purified Capsaicin detected and collected. Our results present a simple, fast, and reproducible method for the extraction of Capsaicin from the fruit of C. annuum  with an almost high yield. The main advantage of the present method, in addition to its simplicity, it cut many steps that usually found in the literature.