Abstract:

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze capsaicinoid compounds (capsaicin and
dihydrocapsaicin) in Sichuan cuisine dishes. According to the results of HPLC analysis and sensory estimation, the pungency
level of samples was divided into 5 grades including grade 5 as strong pungency with capsaicinoids content higher than
0.291 8 g/kg, grade 4 as pungency with capsaicinoids content in the range of 0.092 4–0.291 8 g/kg, grade 3 as moderate
pungency with capsaicinoids content in the range of 0.019 5–0.092 4 g/kg, grade 2 as slightly pungency with capsaicinoids
content in the range of 0.001 95–0.019 5 g/kg and grade 1 as non pungency with capsaicinoids content less than 0.001 95 g/kg.
Among 123 samples, the percentage of each pungency level was 39.84% (grade 1), 18.70% (grade 2), 26.83% (grade 3),
12.20% (grade 4) and 2.44% (grade 5). Furthermore, the analysis indicated that the pungency level of samples was influenced
not only by the species and amount of chilies and its products, but also by the processing method, the size of raw material,
processing temperature and other condiments.

Key words: Sichuan cuisine, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Scoville heat unit (SHU), capsaicinoids, pungency degree, grading