Capsaicin is the main bioactive compound in chili pepper that leads to the perception of “spiciness”. However, the effect of capsaicin on aroma release in the nose remains unexplained. This is the first study designed to measure capsaicin’s impact on aroma release during consumption. In-vitro studies, using static headspace analysis by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (APCI-MS), showed no impact of capsaicin (5ppm) on the gas-liquid partitioning equilibria of a range of aroma compounds. However, a significant reduction in aroma release was observed in-vivo, during oral melting of a model ice cube system (p<0.05) included 5ppm capsaicin. The total release of aroma into the nasal cavity was decreased, such that only 49% of 3-methylbutanal, 60% of 1-octen-3-ol and 83% of linalool was released. This is the first evidence of capsaicin’s reduction effect on aroma release during consumption. It was also found that 5ppm capsaicin increased saliva secretion by 75%, which may have led to the dilution of aroma compounds in the mouth and directly impacted the aroma release into the nasal cavity. The most hydrophilic compound (3-methylbutanal) was affected by capsaicin to a greater extent than the hydrophobic compound (linalool), the solvent effect of the additional saliva may explain this.

辣椒素是辣椒中主要的生物活性化合物，可导致“辣”的感觉。然而，辣椒素对鼻子中香气释放的影响尚无法解释。这是第一项旨在测量辣椒素对食用过程中香气释放的影响的研究。使用大气压化学电离质谱（APCI-MS）进行静态顶空分析的体外研究表明，辣椒素（5ppm）对一系列香气化合物的气液分配平衡没有影响。但是，体内观察到的香气释放明显减少，在模型冰块系统的口服融化期间（p <0.05）包含5ppm辣椒素。香气向鼻腔的总释放减少，从而仅释放了49％的3-甲基丁醛，60％的1-辛烯-3-醇和83％的芳樟醇。这是辣椒素减少食用过程中香气释放的第一个证据。还发现5ppm辣椒素可使唾液分泌增加75％，这可能导致口腔中的香气化合物被稀释，并直接影响香气向鼻腔的释放。辣椒素对亲水性最强的化合物（3-甲基丁醛）的影响大于疏水性化合物（芳樟醇）的影响，附加唾液的溶剂作用可以解释这一点。