[CH] A pepper related report
Andrew Healy (A.Healy@surrey.ac.uk)
Mon, 14 Sep 1998 11:18:28 +0100
from : http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/lectures/peppers.html
Peppers
It has always disappointed me as an inorganic chemist, that every first
year student can tell you the formula and structure of salt, but not even
at the postgraduate level will you find many students that have any idea at
all about what is in pepper!
Bell Peppers
<Picture: Bell pepper>Bell peppers
A wealth of information is available from the Northern Carolina Cooperative
Extension Service on growing commercial vegetables.
Leaflet 21 includes Bell peppers and pimento.
A recent paper in J. Sci. Food Agric., 1995, 67, 189-196 by S.M. van Ruth,
J.P. Roozen and J.L. Cozijnsen, describes flavour components in Bell peppers.
Out of 47 compounds identified, 12 could be detected by assessors at a
sniffing port on a GC. A simulation of their GC is shown as a sensitive map
GC/MS, and the MS files can be downloaded in JCAMP-DX format by selecting
the appropriate box.
<Picture: GC/MS of pepper>
The 12 compounds were:
•3 (2220) 2-Methylpropanal MS •9 2-Methylbutanal MS •10 3-Methylbutanal MS
•13 (2370) 2,3-Butanedione •15 (3382) 1-Penten-3-one •19 (2557) Hexanal MS
•25 (2540) Heptanal PDB •29 beta-Ocimene •35 trans-3-Hepten-2-one •39
Dimethyltrisulfide •45 (3132) 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine PDB •47 (3639)
beta-Cyclocitral
other compounds found in reasonable quantities were:
•14 (3098) Pentanal PDB •21 1-Methyl-1H-pyrrole •23 (3584) 1-Penten-3-ol
PDB •26 (2633) (R)-(+)-Limonene MS •36 cis-2-Heptenal •40 (2782) Nonanal
PDB •42 (2805) 1-Octen-3-ol PDB •44 (2362) Decanal PDB
The numbers on the left are the peak numbers identified in their GC, the
numbers in brackets are the FEMA codes (Flavor and Extract Manufacturers'
Association of the USA).
Am working on the chilli pepper site but can only find bell types.
Who knew what our passion entailed. [see website for pretty pics]
That which doesn't kill us, makes us strong ! <Nietzsche>
Andrew Healy