Analysis of Macro Metal Content in Chillie Powder Available in the Sri Lankan Market

Abstract

Chillie (Capsicum annuum L.) powder is the dried, pulverized fruit of chillies and used as a spice to add pungency flavour to the dish. This study was conducted to investigate the macro metal content in chillie powder samples commonly available in the Sri Lankan market. Five brands of chillie powder samples named A, B, C, D and E, and an unbranded sample were selected for this study. Three batches from each brand and three samples from each batch were purchased. An ungrounded whole dry chillie sample was selected as the control. The macro metal content was determined using Atomic absorption spectrometric and X-ray fluorescence spectrometric techniques. Results were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA, at 0.05 probability level with MINITAB-14 software package. According to this study, there was no significant difference between the batches in each brand in mean metal contents. But there were significant differences among the brands in mean metal contents. According to the results Na content of all the chillie powder samples and Ca content of some brands (brand C-955.2 ± 1.2 µg/g, brand D-962.0 ± 0.9 µg/g and brand E-822.0 ± 1.0 µg/g) were found to be lower than the control (1495.2 ± 0.3 µg/g). The reason for this may be due to the loss caused by heat generation during the chillie grinding process or may be due to adulteration with plant materials with low Na and Ca content. The mean K content of chillie powder samples was within the range of 22 866.6 to 25 547.0 µg/g, while the mean Mg content varied in the range of 1991.3 - 2180.5 µg/g. These variations may be due to multiple factors, such as the differences in soil conditions where it was grown, variety of chillie, maturity of chillie, growing season, climatic condition, processing treatments and preservation method.