Development and validation of an analytical method for the quantification of capsanthin in chili peppers and products by high-performance liquid chromatography

Capsanthin is a natural red–orange pigment present in red paprika and has been proven to have various health benefits. The rising consumption of chili peppers and the global demand of natural color promote the need for capsanthin quantification analysis. In the present study, a high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the analysis of capsanthin in chili peppers and their products. The chromatographic and extraction parameters were optimized. The concentration of capsanthin ranged from 0.5 to 200 mg/L which showed good linearity (R² > 0.99). The LOD and LOQ of samples ranged from 0.014 to 0.092 mg/kg and 0.049–0.12 mg/kg, respectively. The recovery experiment (recovery rate 84.79–103.55%, RSD 1.64–9.27%) and interlaboratory test (the RSD of repeatability and reproducibility was in the range of 3.11–4.06% and 4.66–5.52%, respectively) demonstrated good accuracy, precision, repeatability, and reproducibility of the proposed method. The results indicate that the developed method will be a valuable tool for routine analysis of capsanthin in chili peppers and their products.