CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE PEPPER FRUIT EXTRACTS OF HOT CULTIVARS Capsicum annuum L.

Hot pepper fruits contain the chemical group of alkaloid compounds called capsaicinoids, which are responsible for the pungency of the Capsicum species. The aim of our study was to determine the chemical composition as well as the content of capsaicinoids in pepper fruits (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars ‘Adorno’ and ‘Etna’, which were grown in the north-western Poland in 2009. Capsaicinoids were extracted from dry pepper fruits by solvents (acetone and hexane) and analyzed by GC/MS. The analysis revealed that the major components of the extracts are capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and nonivamide (pelargonic acid vanillylamide).