Paprika

Paprika is a very old colorant and spice. It is a deep red, pungent powder prepared from the dried pods of the sweet pepper, Capsicum annum. 

Paprika contains capsombin and capsanthin (Fig. 8.3) which occur mainly as the lauric acid esters, and about 20 other carotenoid pigments. Paprika is produced in many countries which have developed their own specialties. Cayenne or cayenne pepper, produced from a different cultivar of C. annum, is usually more pungent. C. frutescens is the source of the very pungent Tabasco sauce. Paprika oleoresin is produced by solvent extraction of the ground powder. Obviously paprika supplies both flavor and color and its use is limited to those products compatible with the flavor. The recent rise in demand for tomato products in the form of pizza, salsa, etc., has increased the demand for paprika. Paprika is used in meat products, soups, sauces, salad dressings, processed cheese, snacks, confectionery and baked goods.1018 

The acute oral toxicity of paprika is very low with an LD50 for mice of 11 g/kg. Several studies have indicated that paprika is not genotoxic. The JECFA did not establish an ADI because they considered that the levels of paprika and its oleoresins in foods would be self-limiting.11 

Paprika is well established worldwide and will probably increase in volume due to the popularity of tomato products and possibly by analogy to the health effects being attributed to the carotenoids. 

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In 1991, vanilla beans were the highest valued spice import, with shipments totaling 69.0 million, followed by black and white pepper at 60.6 million, capsicum peppers and paprika at 42.6 million, sesame seed at 40.6 million, and cassia and cinnamon at 27.8 million. The most expensive spices, on a unit value basis, include saffron, 1116/kg average New York spot vanilla beans, 80.50/kg for Bourbon beans from Madagascar, Comoros, and Reunion, and 22.05/kg for Java beans and cardamom, 38.54/kg for grade AA bleached Indian and 3.88/kg for Guatemalan mixed greens. 

U.S. Oleoresin Imports. Reports of the USDA Hst only paprika and black pepper oleoresins by name, and label all others, eg, capsicum, celery seed, and turmeric, as "other" (Table 3). The steady increase in the value of oleoresin imports is expected to continue. 

Paprika oleoresin (EEC No. E 160c) is the combination of davor and color principles obtained by extracting paprika with any one or a combination of approved solvents acetone, ethyl alcohol, ethylene dichloride, hexane, isopropyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, methylene chloride, and trichloroethylene. Depending on their source, paprika oleoresins are brown—red, slightly viscous, homogeneous Hquids, pourable at room temperature, and containing 2—5% sediment. 

The oleoresins are available in various standardized forms in which 1 kg of oleoresin is equal to 10—30 kg of paprika. Paprika oleoresins are typically standardized by dilution with vegetable oil or mono- or diglycerides. 

Paprika and its oleoresin are approved for use in foods in general where its appHcation as a color additive frequendy ovedaps its use as a spice. Both products have good tinctorial strength and are used at 0.2—100 ppm to produce orange to bright red shades. 

Ascorbic acid is photosensitive and unstable in aqueous solution at room temperature. During storage of foods, vitamin C is inactivated by oxygen. This process is accelerated by heat and the presence of catalysts. Ascorbic acid concentration in human organs is highest in adrenal and pituitary glands, eye lens, liver, spleen, and brain. Potatoes, citrus fruits, blade currants, sea buckthorns, acerola, rose hips, and red paprika peppers are among the most valuable vitamin C sources [1,2]. 

Food containing salicylate (curry powder, paprika, licorice, prunes, raisins, and tea) may increase the risk of adverse reactions. Coadministration of the salicylates with activated charcoal decreases the absorption of the salicylates. Antacids may decrease the effects of the salicylates. Coadministration with the carbonic anhydrase inhibitors increases the risk of salicylism. Aspirin may increase the risk of bleeding during... 

Capsicum annuum fruit Capsanthin, capsorubin (paprika) Food colouring... 

Spices snch as paprika, saffron, and annatto, which are traditionally employed in different parts of the world, contain nniqne carotenoids. Fignre 4.2.2 shows the strnctnres of these carotenoids. 

Thonsands of paprika varieties belong to the Capsicum genns and they vary widely in their sizes, shapes, colors, flavors, and pungency levels. The major carotenoids fonnd in red paprika are capsanthin and capsornbin, which posses k end gronp. Yellow pigments such as lutein, zeaxanthin, violaxanthin, and 3-carotene... 

FIGURE 4.2.2 Structures of carotenoids found in paprika (capsanthin and capsombin), saffron and gardenia (crocetin derivatives), and annatto (bixin and norbixin). 

Deh, J. and Molnar, R, Paprika carotenoids analysis, isolation, structure elucidation, Curr. Org. Chem., 6, 1197, 2002. 

Paprika oleoresin colors, oil- E 160c or water-soluble... 

Extracts of paprika and vegetable oil Extracts of paprika and Polysorbate 80... 

APCl in positive mode ionization and triple quadrupole detection was used for determination of free and bound carotenoids in paprika, obtaining the [M + H]+ and losses of fatty acids as neutral molecules from the [M + H]+ with MeOH, MTBE, and H2O as eluent from the C30 column. The positions of the fatty acids on unsymmetrical xanthophylls could not be established by the MS data. 

Traditionally, carotenoid standards are prepared in each laboratory using the best sources of each individual carotenoid, for example, violaxanthin from spinach, antheraxanthin from potatoes, capsanthin and capsorubin from paprika, a- and P-carotene from carrots, and lycopene from tomatoes. 

Perez-Galvez, A., Homero-Mendez, D., and Mmguez-Mosquera, M.I., Dependence of carotenoid content and temperature-time regimes during the traditional slow drying of red pepper for paprika production at La Vera County, Eur. Food Res. Technol., 221, 645, 2005. 

Gnayfeed, M.H. et ah. Supercritical COj and subcritical propane extraction of pungent paprika and quantification of carotenoids, tocopherols, and capsaicinoids, J. Agric. Food Chem., 49, 2761, 2001. 

Breithaupt, D.E. and Schwack, W., Determination of free and bound carotenoids in paprika Capsicum annuum L.) by LC/MS, Eur. Food Res. TechnoL, 211, 52, 2000. Epler, K.S., Ziegler, R.G., and Craft, N.E., Liquid chromatographic method for the determination of carotenoids, retinoids and tocopherols in human serum and in food, J. Chrvmatogr, 619, 37, 1993. 

Detailed information about carotenoids found in food or extracted from food and evaluated for their potential as food colorants appeared in Sections 4.2 and 6.2. We would like to mention some new data about the utilization of pure carotenoid molecules or extracts as allowed food additives. Looking to the list of E-coded natural colorants (Table 7.2.1), we can identify standardized colorants E160a through f, E 161a, and E161b as natural or semi-synthetic derivatives of carotenoids provided from carrots, annatto, tomatoes, paprika, and marigold. In addition, the extracts (powders or oleoresins) of saffron, - paprika, and marigold are considered more economical variants in the United States and European Union. 

Minguez-Mosquera, M.I. and FIomero-Mendez, D., Separation and quantification of the carotenoid pigments in red peppers, paprika and oleoresin by reversed phase HPLC, J. Agric. Food Chem., 41, 1616, 1993. 

Fletcher, D.L. and Halloran, H.R., An evaluation of commercially available marigold concentrate and paprika oleoresin on egg yolk pigmentation. Poultry ScL, 60, 1846, 1981. 

Capsandiin, capsorubin, paprika, paprika E 160c Paprika (Capsicum annum L) reddish (carmine) orange 0... 

Paprika, powdered spice, orange-red, paprika oleoresin as food colorant... 

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