Resumen de Determination of the Scoville Heat Value for Hot Sauces and Chilies: An HPLC Experiment
James D. Batchelor, Bradley T. Jones
A laboratory experiment for a junior- or senior-level college instrumental analysis course has been designed and tested. The student will isolate the capsainoids from commercial food products (chilies and sauces) using a simple extraction technique. The identity and concentration of the capsainoids are determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The concentrations are then used to determine the pungency (Scoville heat value) of the foods. Taste tests can be used to verify the relative pungency of the products. The experiment is designed to be completed in less than four hours.
