The capsaicin content was determined by the spectrophotometric method as described by Balasubramaniam, Raj, Kasthuri, and
Rengaswami (1982). 50 mg of dried material was taken in volumetric flask to which 10 ml of dry acetone was added and subjected to 3 h continuous shaking, then centrifuged at 10,000 rpm
for 10 min. 1 ml of clear supernatant was pipetted out and allowed
to evaporate to dryness in hot water bath. Residue was dissolved in
5 ml of 0.4% sodium hydroxide solution, followed by addition of
3 ml of 3% phosphomolybdic acid and allowed to stand for 1 h.
The solution was filtered and centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 10–
15 min. The absorbance of the blue colored solution was read at
650 nm against blank in a UV spectrophotometer. The concentration of capsaicin in the sample was calculated from the slope of
the standard curve and expressed as percent.