Sensitive determination of capsaicin in pepper samples using a voltammetric platform based on carbon nanotubes and ruthenium nanoparticles

Smartphone-based digital image colorimetry for the determination of total capsaicinoid content in chili pepper extracts

A simple smartphone-based digital image colorimetry was proposed for the determination of total capsaicinoid content and the assessment of chili pepper pungency. The biobased solvent D-limonene was used for the first time to isolate analytes. Capsaicinoids were efficiently separated from chili pepper by solid-liquid extraction with D-limonene followed by partitioning of the analytes into the ammonium hydroxide solution to eliminate the matrix interference effect. For colorimetric detection of total capsaicinoid content, a selective chromogenic reaction was performed using Gibbs reagent (2,6-dichloroquinone-4-chloroimide). Measurements were performed using a smartphone-based setup and included image analysis with the program ImageJ. The limit of detection of the proposed procedure was 0.15 mg g-1. The intra-day repeatability did not exceed 10.0 %. The inter-day repeatability was less than 16.5 %. The comparison of the smartphone-based procedure with high-performance liquid chromatography showed satisfactory results.

Novel Immunosensor Based on Metal Single-Atom Nanozymes with Enhanced Oxidase-Like Activity for Capsaicin Analysis in Spicy Food

Capsaicin (CAP) is a primary indicator for assessing the level of pungency. Herein, iron-based single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes) (Fe/NC) with exceptional oxidase-like activity were used to construct an immunosensor for CAP analysis. Fe/NC could imitate oxidase actions by transforming O2 to •O2- radicals in the absence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which could avoid complex operations and unstable results. By regulating the Fe atom loads, an optimal Fe0.7/NC atom usage rate could improve the catalytic activity (Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) = 0.09 mM). Fe0.7/NC was integrated with goat antimouse IgG by facile mix incubation to develop a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Our Fe0.7/NC immunosensing platform is anticipated to outperform the conventional ELISA in terms of stability and shelf life. The proposed immunosensor provided color responses across 0.01-1000 ng/mL CAP concentrations, with a detection limit of 0.046 ng/mL. Fe/NC may have potential as nanozymes for CAP detection in spicy foods, with promising applications in food biosensing.

Electronic Tongue Based on ZnO/ITO@glass for Electrochemical Monitoring of Spiciness Levels

Capsaicin, a chemical compound present in chili peppers, is widely acknowledged as the main contributor to the spicy and hot sensations encountered during consumption. Elevated levels of capsaicin can result in meals being excessively spicy, potentially leading to health issues, such as skin burning, irritation, increased heart rate and circulation, and discomfort in the gastrointestinal system and even inducing nausea or diarrhea. The level of spiciness that individuals can tolerate may vary, so what may be considered incredibly hot for one person could be mild for another. To ensure food safety, human healthcare, regulatory compliance, and quality control in spicy food products, capsaicin levels must be measured. For these purposes, a reliable and stable sensor is required to quantify the capsaicin level. To leverage the effect of zinc oxide (ZnO), herein, we demonstrated the one-step fabrication process of an electronic tongue (E-Tongue) based on an electrochemical biosensor for the determination of capsaicin. ZnO was electrodeposited on the indium tin oxide (ITO) surface. The biosensor demonstrated the two notable linear ranges from 0.01 to 50 μM and from 50 to 500 μM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.1 nM. The present study also included the analysis of real samples, such as green chilis, red chili powder, and dried red chilis, to evaluate their spiciness levels. Furthermore, the E-Tongue exhibited notable degrees of sensitivity, selectivity, and long-term stability for a duration of more than a month. The development of an E-Tongue for capsaicin real-time monitoring as a point-of-care (POC) device has the potential to impact various industries and improve safety, product quality, and healthcare outcomes.

A Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Sensor for Capsaicinoids and Its Application in the Identification of Illegal Cooking Oil

Capsaicinoids, mostly from chili peppers, are widely used in daily life. Capsaicinoids are considered to be markers for the identification of illegal cooking oil (ICO), which is a serious threat to public health. The identification of capsaicinoids can help reveal food-related fraud, thereby safeguarding consumers' health. Here, a novel and ultrasensitive method was established with a signal amplification strategy for the detection of capsaicinoids. AuNPs@Fe3O4 nanocomposites were functionalized with 4-aminothiophenol (4-atp). After diazotization, 4-atp on AuNPs@Fe3O4 reacted with capsaicinoids and formed capsaicinoids-azo-atp-AuNPs@Fe3O4. Ultimately, capsaicinoids-azo-atp-AuNPs@Fe3O4 was dropped onto the surface of a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) and detected via the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method. AuNPs@Fe3O4 nanocomposites increased the specific surface area of the electrode. Moreover, the diazotization-coupling reaction enriched the analytes on the electrode surface. Liquid-liquid extraction was used for sample pretreatment. Under a pH value of 9.0 and concentration of 0.20 mol/L for the supporting electrolyte, the linearity of capsaicinoids in ICO is from 0.10 to 10.00 ng/mL, and the limit of detection (S/N = 3) is 0.05 ng/mL. This method is ultra-sensitive, reliable, and cost-effective for the detection of capsaicinoids. Herein, this method provides a promising tool for the identification of ICO.

A highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for detecting the content of capsaicinoids based on the synergistic catalysis of rGO/PEI-CNTs/β-CD

Rapid quantification of the content of capsaicinoids helps in classifying the degree of spiciness, standardized production, and quality control of leisure meat products. To rapidly quantify the content of capsaicinoids in soy sauce and pot-roast meat products, we developed an electrochemical sensor based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/polyethylene imine (PEI) - carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to detect the content of capsaicinoids in leisure meat products. Our findings showed that the electrochemical sensor presented highly sensitive performance toward capsaicinoids with a relatively wide linear range (0.01-100 µmol/L), a lower limit of detection (0.01 µmol/L), and an acceptable recovery rate (94.80-112.20%). The sensor performed well and was effective mainly because of the three-dimensional stacking structure and synergistic catalysis of rGO with cCNTs and also due to the improved dispersion of the composite material by β-CD. The sensor detected trace contents of capsaicinoids in leisure meat products, and thus, it might be considered for practical applications.

Fluorimetric chemodosimeter for the detection of capsaicinoids in food matrices

Capsaicin is a major pungent capsaicinoids in chili pepper and it causes duodenal, liver, stomach and gastric cancer in human. Hence, the detection of capsaicinoids becomes important on health issues concern. Here we are reporting, the first organic molecule based fluorimetric sensor for capsaicin detection using simple fluorophore 4-3-(pyren-2-yl-acryloyl) phenyboronic acid (PAPA), which was synthesized via greener microwave method. The probe has detected the capsaicin selectively in presence of other biomolecules in human biofluids through the intramolecular charge transfer mechanism and supported with DFT studies. The sensor has shown an excellent response towards capsaicin from 2 to 40 µM and the limit of detection of 12.84 nM. Real time analysis was done in various food matrices having capsaicinoids and the results have clearly shown good agreement with our optimized data and it also evinced that the developed sensor can be applied to detect the level of pungency of capsaicinoids.

Review of the Design of Ruthenium-Based Nanomaterials and Their Sensing Applications in Electrochemistry

In this review, ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru NPs)-based functional nanomaterials have attractive electrocatalytic characteristics and they offer considerable potential in a number of fields. Ru-based binary or multimetallic NPs are widely utilized for electrode modification because of their unique electrocatalytic properties, enhanced surface-area-to-volume ratio, and synergistic effect between two metals provides as an effective improved electrode sensor. This perspective review suggests the current research and development of Ru-based nanomaterials as a platform for electrochemical (EC) sensing of harmful substances, biomolecules, insecticides, pharmaceuticals, and environmental pollutants. The advantages and limitations of mono-, bi-, and multimetallic Ru-based nanocomposites for EC sensors are discussed. Besides, the relevant EC properties and analyte sensing approaches are also presented. On the basis of these insights, we highlighted recent results for synthesizing techniques and EC environmental pollutant sensors from the perspectives of diverse supports, including graphene, carbon nanotubes, silica, semiconductors, metal sulfides, and polymers. Finally, this work overviews the modern improvements in the utilization of Ru-based nanocomposites on the basis for electroanalytical sensors as well as suggestions for the field's future development.

Electrochemical Determination of Capsaicinoids Content in Soy Sauce and Pot-Roast Meat Products Based on Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Β-Cyclodextrin/Carboxylated Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

The rapid quantification of capsaicinoids content is very important for the standardization of pungent taste degree and flavor control of soy sauce and pot-roast meat products. To rapidly quantify the capsaicinoids content in soy sauce and pot-roast meat products, an electrochemical sensor based on β-cyclodextrin/carboxylated multi-wall carbon nanotubes was constructed and the adsorptive stripping voltammetry method was used to enrich samples in this study. The results showed that the excellent performance of the established electrochemical sensor was mostly because β-cyclodextrin caused the relative dispersion of carboxylated multi-wall carbon nanotubes on the glassy carbon electrode surface. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin had similar electrochemical behavior, so the proposed method could determine the total content of capsaicinoids. The linearity of capsaicinoids content was from 0.5 to 100 μmol/L and the detection limit was 0.27 μmol/L. The recovery rates of different capsaicinoids content were between 83.20% and 136.26%, indicating the proposed sensor could realize trace detection of capsaicinoids content in sauce and pot-roast meat products. This work provides a research basis for pungent taste degree standardization and flavor control in the food industry.

Electroanalytical overview: the pungency of chile and chilli products determined via the sensing of capsaicinoids

When you bite into a chile pepper or eat food containing chile (chilli), one might feel heat, or other associated feelings, some good such as the release of endorphins, and some bad. The heat, or pungency, and related feelings from eating chile peppers are the result of their chemical composition, i.e. the concentrations of capsaicinoids. The major components are capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, which occur in chiles in the ratio of 6 : 4. Other capsaicinoids occur in smaller concentrations and are known as the "minor" capsaicinoids. Wilbur L. Scoville in 1912 created an organoleptic test, now known as the Scoville scale, which asked a panel of tasters to state when an increasingly dilute solution of the chile pepper in alcohol no longer burned the mouth. Following the Scoville scale, a plethora of analytical techniques later followed. In this overview, we explore the endeavours directed to the development of electrochemical-based sensors for the determination of capsaicin and related compounds, starting from their use in hyphenated laboratory set-ups to their modern use as stand-alone electroanalytical sensors. The latter have the advantage of providing a rapid and sensitive methodology that has the potential to be translated in the field; future trends and issues to be overcome are consequently suggested.

A simple and rapid electrochemical determination of pungency: Application to aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Capsicum annuum cubana red

Chili peppers are rich in ascorbic acid and capsaicin. In this article is proposed an easy, fast, sensitive, and inexpensive method for determining the pungency and content of ascorbic acid in chili pepper extracts. The voltammetric (cyclic and differential pulse) behavior of capsaicin on a glassy carbon electrode has been evaluated at different pH values. A calibration curve has been obtained for the peak current, IP, of capsaicin as a function of the capsaicin concentration, C, in differential pulse voltammetry in phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.0: IP(µA) = 0.0147 (±5.346·10−3) + 0.0507 (±8.984·10−4) C(µM), with limit of detection, LOD = 0.198µM, limit of quantification, LOQ = 0.660µM, and dynamic linear range from 0.660 to 20.9 µM. A variant of the standard addition method has been used for simultaneous determination of the pungency and ascorbic acid content of extracts of Capsicum annuum cubana red. In this case, the calibration for ascorbic acid was I(µA) = 0.467 (±0.012) + 2.039·10−3 (±4.601·10−5) VAA(L)), with LOD = 17.56 µL, LOQ = 58.55 µL, and dynamic linear range from 58.6 to 500 µL, being VAA the volume of 10-mM ascorbic acid added to 50 mL of solution. The ascorbic acid content was compared to that of a sweet pepper. The method is cheap, simple, and fast (30 min vs c.a. 2 h compared to the spectrophotometric method), its sensitivity being comparable to other more expensive and/or more laborious methods.