1419

Technical

*%Chemical and Nutritional Evaluation of Chili

(Capsicum annum) Seed Oil
B. Sarala Reddy and G. Sarojini
Department of Foods and Nutrition,A.P. Agricultural University,Hyderabad, India

Alkali-refined red chili (Capsicum annum) seed oil w a s
analyzed for free fatty acids, iodine value, saponification
value, peroxide value and fatty acid composition, and
the values were found to be close to t h o s e of edible oils.
The alkali-refined chili oil {5% of diet), alcohol-treated
chili oil (5%) and a mixture of alcohol-treated chili oil
and peanut oil (5%+5%) were fed to adult male albino
rats in natural diets for eight weeks. Digestibility w a s
normal in all experimental animals and w a s on par with
the peanut oil control. Serum lipid levels in the group
fed alcohol-treated chili oil were slightly high com-
pared to t h o s e in groups fed alkali-refined chili oil and
peanut oil. Liver structure revealed no abnormalities.
Chili p e p p e r s (Capsicum annum) are c u l t i v a t e d in sev-
eral p a r t s of the world and e x t e n s i v e l y in I n d i a (1).
B o t h green a n d red chilies are u s e d t o flavor food.
Capsaicin, t h e p u n g e n t principle p r e s e n t in t h e inner
walls of t h e fruit, is actually responsible for t h e strong,
spicy flavor of the chilies (2,3). The seeds c o n s t i t u t e
60% of the t o t a l w e i g h t of t h e d r y fruit a n d c o n t a i n
12-26% oil (1). T h e oil is rich in u n s a t u r a t e d f a t t y
a c i d s - l i n o l e i c (73.2%) a n d oleic (7.9), w i t h s m a l l
a m o u n t s of myristic (0.2%), palmitic (15.9%) and stearic
{2.9%). T h e oil resembles m o s t edible oils in its chem-
ical a n d p h y s i c a l c o n s t a n t s , i.e., iodine value, saponifi-
cation value, unsaponifiable m a t t e r , refractive index
a n d specific g r a v i t y (4). The chemical n a t u r e a n d the
flavor c o m p o n e n t s of red p e p p e r p o w d e r a n d its effect
on fat a b s o r p t i o n were studied {5,6). While all this
information is well documented, the effects of consum-
ing the chili seed oil in biological s y s t e m s is less under-
s t o o d a n d hence the p r e s e n t s t u d y w a s a t t e m p t e d .
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Chemical and fatty acid determination. Alkali-refined
chili seed oil (RCSO) w a s a n a l y z e d for free f a t t y acids,
iodine value, saponification value, unsaponifiable m a t t e r
and peroxide value b y a d a p t i n g a p p r o v e d p r o c e d u r e s
(7). T h e f a t t y acid m e t h y l e s t e r s were p r e p a r e d b y t h e
m e t h o d of Christie (8) and a n a l y z e d in a g a s liquid
c h r o m a t o g r a p h (Varian Model 3700), fitted with a flame
ionization detector. T h e c o l u m n ( D E G S 6%) tempera-
t u r e of 180C, injection p o r t t e m p e r a t u r e of 200 C a n d
d e t e c t o r t e m p e r a t u r e of 2 0 0 C were maintained, with
n i t r o g e n as carrier gas. The peaks obtained b y injecting
1 ~1 m e t h y l e s t e r s were identified b y r u n n i n g a stan-
d a r d f a t t y acid mixture.

TABLE 1
Composition of Control and Experimental Diets
Control diets Experimental diets
Ingredients
PNOa PNO RCSO a ACSOa PNO+ACSO
(5%) {10%) (5%) (5%) (5%) (5%)
Rice flour 45 40 45 45 40
Roasted green gram
dhal flour 40 40 40 40 40
Peanut oil 4 9 - - 4
Refined chili seed oil - - 4 - 5
Alcohol-treated
chili seed oil - - - 4 -
Sugar 5 5 5 5 5
Salt mixture b 4 4 4 4 4
Water-soluble vitamin
mixture c 1 1 1 1 1
Fat-soluble vitamin
mixture d 1 1 1 1 1
apNO, peanut oil; RCSO, refined chili seed oil; ACSO, alcohol-treated chili seed oil.
bsalt mi_xture-NaC1, 139.3 g; KI, 0.79 g; KH2PO4, 389.0 g; MgSO4 {anhydrous), 57.3 g;
CaCo3, 381.4 g; FeSO4*7H20, 27.0 g; MnSO4*H20, 4.01 g; ZnsO4e7H20, 0.548 g;
CuSO4*5H20, 0.477 g; COC12*6H20, 0.23 g.
cVitaminized starch: 1 g corn starch contained vitamin K {menadione), 0.5 mg; thiamine,
0.5 mg; riboflavin, 1.0 rag; pyridoxine, 0.4 mg; calcium pantothenate, 4.0 mg; niacin,
4.0 mg; choline, 200 mg; inositol, 25 rag; paraaminobenzoic acid, 10 mg; vitamin B12,
2 ~g; biotin, 0.02 mg; folic acid, 0.2 mg.
dVitaminized oil: 1 g of the oil contained retinol, 300 ~g; vitamin D 2, 2.5 b~g;a-tocopherol
acetate, 10 mg.

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B. SARALA REDDY AND G. SAROJINI

TABLE 2
Lipid, Protein and Energy Values in Control and Experimental Diets a

Control diets Experimental diets

Ingredients
PNO PNO RCSO ACSO PNO+ACSO
(5%) (10%) (5%} (5%) (5%) 15%}
Lipid (g} 5 10 5 5 10
Protein (g} 12 12 12 12 12
Energy (Kcal) 360 387 360 360 387

aAbbreviations as in Table 1.

Two kg of alkali-refined chili seed oil were treated
with ethanol to partly remove the traces of capsaicin
present, as indicated by Srinivasan (3), and then water-
washed to eliminate alcohol (alcohol=treated chili seed
oil) (ACSO).
Biological study. F o r t y adult male albino rats weighing
146-148 g were divided into five groups of eight animals
each. The animals were fed one of the diets given in
Table 1, ad libitum; refined peanut oil (PNO} was ref-
erence. The salt m i x t u r e , v i t a m i n i z e d s t a r c h and
vitaminized oil were p r e p a r e d according to Indian
S t a n d a r d I n s t i t u t e specifications (9). The diets so
prepared provided lipids, calories and proteins as indi-
cated in Table 2.
The feeding as carried out for a period of eight weeks,
and the food intake of all animals was recorded each
day. The rats were carefully supervised for any clinical
signs. Toward the end of feeding, the final weight of all
animals was recorded.
Digestibility study. Three days before termination of
feeding, the feces of both control and experimental
groups was collected and analyzed for lipid excretion
{10}. After making correction for metabolic fat, the true
digestibility was computed.
Collection of blood and liver tissues. On completion
of eight weeks feeding, the blood and livers from con-
trol and experimental animals were collected and weighed.
From each liver a small portion from the right lobe was
cut and preserved in 10% neutral buffered formalin for
histopathological examination. The rest of the liver
tissues were weighed and homogenized with chloroform-
methanol (2:1) to a final 20-fold volume, filtered and
kept ready for lipid analysis.
Analysis of serum and liver homogenates for lipids.
The lipid components analyzed in serum and liver were
total lipids (10AD, total cholesterol (12), free cholesterol
{13}, phospholipids (14} and triglycerides (15}.
Histopathological study. The processing of liver
sections for histopathological s t u d y was done by the
m e t h o d of Culling {16}. The results of biochemical
analyses were subjected to tests of significance (17}.
and 81.5% u n s a t u r a t e d f a t t y acids, with 70.6% linoleic
acid content, while peanut oil has 12% total saturated
f a t t y acids and 88% u n s a t u r a t e d acids with more oleic
(58%) than linoleic acid (30%}. The linoleic acid in chili oil
is more than double the amount present in peanut oil.
Feed efficiency and digestibility. The feed efficiency
in rats fed diets containing RCSO {5%}, ACSO (5%), or
a mixture of A C S O + P N O {5%+5%} were comparable
to PNO (5% and 10%) control groups {Table 5). The
true digestibility on feeding the different chili oil diets
was also comparable to PNO.
Lipid composition in tissues. Total lipids, total
cholesterol, free cholesterol and triglycerides were high
in the blood samples of chili seed oil groups compared
to control groups fed PNO {Table 6). The highest lipid
levels were seen in the ACSO group, followed by the
RCSO group. The mixutre of RCSO 5 % + P N O 5% did
not show a large increase, but compared to the 5% and
10% PNO control groups, these levels were still con-
sidered high. Despite the low lipid level in the diet, the
pronounced increase in blood lipid levels can be related
to large food intake by the adult rats, or possibly to
TABLE 3
Chemical Characteristics of Chili Oil
Compared With Peanut Oil
Chili oil Peanut oil
Free fatty acids (FFA)
(as oleie acid %) 0.8 0.8
Iodine value
(Wijs) (IV) 136.0 92.0
Saponification value (SV) 194.0 193.0
Peroxide value (POV)
(Meq O2/kg oil) 4.2 0.5
TABLE 4
Fatty Acids in Chili Seed Oil and Peanut Oil

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION % level in

Fatty acid
Chemical nature and fatty acid composition. The chem- Chili oil Peanut Oil
ical characteristics of the alkali-refined chili oil {Table
Palmitic acid (C16} 16.36 9.0
3} and the component f a t t y acids {Table 4) were found
Stearic acid (C18} 2.15 3.0
to be close to peanut oil and to the values reported for Oleic acid (C18:1) 10.90 58,0
most commonly used edible oils except for I.V. The Linoleic acid (C18:2) 70.59 30.0
chili oil had about 18.5% total saturated f a t t y acids

JAOCS, Vol. 64, no. 10 (October 1987)

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CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF CHILI SEED OIL

TABLE 5

Food Efficiency and Digestibility in Control and Experimental Rats

Control Experimental
Parameters PNO PNO RCSO ACSO RCSO+PNO
(5%~ (10%/ (5%) t5%) (5%) (5%)
Food intake(g) 752 796 812 840 778
Weight gain(g) 140 145 146 153 143
PER (weight gain/
food intake) 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18
True digestibility (%) 97 97 97 97 97

Abbreviations as in Table 1.

b i o s y n t h e s i s f r o m a c e t y l g r o u p s (18) i n t h e liver. n e c r o t i c c h a n g e s , a n d t h e y were c o m p a r a b l e to c o n t r o l

P h o s p h o l i p i d levels i n s e r u m were o b s e r v e d to be
unaltered.
T h e lipid c o m p o s i t i o n of the liver did n o t c h a n g e to
a l a r m i n g levels d u e to chili oil feeding. However, t h e
t o t a l lipid level in t h e A C S O (5%) g r o u p was h i g h
c o m p a r e d to t h e o t h e r g r o u p s (Table 7). T h i s i n c r e a s e
m a y be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e large food i n t a k e , w h i c h
i n f l u e n c e d t h e liver weight, c o n s e q u e n t l y s t i m u l a t i n g
lipid s y n t h e s i s in t h e liver (18). F u r t h e r e x a m i n a t i o n of
t h e liver s e c t i o n s s h o w e d t h a t t h e liver a r c h i t e c t u r e of
t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l r a t s , e x c e p t i n g t h e g r o u p fed A C S O
(5%), a p p e a r e d n o r m a l w i t h o u t a n y f a t t y i n f i l t r a t i o n or
g r o u p s fed 5% a n d 10% PNO. I n t h e A C S O (5%) g r o u p
a v e r y m i l d f a t t y i n f i l t r a t i o n was n o t i c e d i n 90% of t h e
animals, b u t the necrotic changes leading to liver d a m a g e
were a b s e n t .
F o r ages, g r e e n chili or red p e p p e r h a v e b e e n u s e d i n
m a n y w a y s for c u l i n a r y a n d m e d i c i n a l p u r p o s e s . No
h a r m f u l effects h a v e b e e n r e p o r t e d u p o n n o r m a l i n t a k e .
T h e oil e x t r a c t e d from t h e seeds, if refined, m a y n o t
pose a b i g p r o b l e m to h u m a n b e i n g s , as s h o w n i n t h i s
s t u d y b y r a t f e e d i n g trials. Chili seed oil h a s t h e a d d e d
a d v a n t a g e t h a t it c a n s u b s t i t u t e for spices d u r i n g food
p r e p a r a t i o n b e c a u s e t h e oil is still p u n g e n t . T h e u s e of

TABLE 6

Lipid Components in Serum

PNO PNO RCSO ACSO RCSO+PNO
Lipid components (5%) (10%) (5%) (5%} (5%) (5%}

Total lipids (mg/100 ml) 455 +- 37a 463 +- 26a 548 +- 34b 563 +- 34b'c 495 +_ 38a'b
Total cholesterol (mg/100ml) 75 +_ 50 78 +_ 5a 87 +-4-_ 6a 90 +- 10b 82 +- 7a'b
Free cholesterol (mg/100 ml) 22 +- 2a 23 +- 2a 25 +- 25 27 _ 3c 24 +- 2a,b
Phospholipids (mg/100 ml) 95 +- 5 93 +_ 5 92+_ 6 94 +_ 11 90 +- 7
Triglycerides (mg/100 ml) 283 +- 29a 293 +- 18a,b 368 +- 21c 379 +_ 43c 321 +- 25b

Abbreviations as in Table 1.
(+_) Standard deviation.
Figures with same subscript are not statistically different (P<0.5)

TABLE 7

Lipid Components in Liver

PNO PNO RCSO ACSO RCSO+PNO
Lipid component (5%) (10%) (5%) (5%) (10%)

Liver weight (g) 8.1 +_ 1.0 8.2 _ 1.1 8.4 +_ 1.5 9.6 -!-_ 1.6 8.3 +- 1.0
Liver weight as % of
body weight 2.6 +- 0.2 3.0 +- 0.4 2.8 +- 0.4 3.2 +_ 0.3 2.8 +- 0.4
Total lipids (rag/g) 114.0 +- 13.0 117.0 +- 13.0 118.0 _ 13.0 119.0 +- 19.0 116.0 +- 11.0
Total cholesterol(rag/g) 12.0 +- 1.0 12.0 +__ 1.0 12.1 _ 1.0 12.4 - 2.0 12.1 +- 1.0
Free cholesterol(mg/g) 4.7 + 0.5 4.8 +- 0.5 4.9 +_ 0.5 5.0 - 0.7 4.9 +- 0.6
Phospholipids (mg/g) 37.5 +- 4.0 38.0 _ 4.0 39.0 +_ 5.0 39.0 +- 6.0 38.8 - 4.0
Triglycerides {rag/g) 64.0 +- 7.0 65.0 +- 6.0 66.0 +- 7.0 65.0 +- 6.0 66.0 +- 7.0

Abbreviations as in Table 1.
I+_) Standard deviation.

JAOCS, Vol. 64, no. 10 (October 1987)

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B. SARALA REDDY AND G. SAROJINI
chili oil m a y play a dual role of supplying essential
f a t t y acids and contributing flavor, both in normal
cooking and in pickle preparation. This oil should be
considered for large-scale production, instead of dis-
carding the seed available in the market, to partly
improve the oil situation in developing countries. This
oil, however, cannot be recommended for deep frying
because it produces strong p u n g e n t odor upon heating
to high temperatures.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University,
Hyderabad, for facilitating the study and the Oil Technological
Research Institute, Ananthapur, for supplying the chili seed oil.
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JAOCS, Vol. 64, no. 10 (October 1987)
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[Received April 3, 1986]