Determination of the Chemical Volatile Compounds of a Chili Pepper Cultivar (Capsicum annuum) Grown in Eastern Côte d’Ivoire

Chilli is widely used throughout the world and, in Côte d'Ivoire in particular, for his nutritional and medicinal properties. Indeed, peppers are good sources of vitamins, polyphenols, minerals and volatile compounds. This work allowed to determine the volatile compounds of a pepper cultivar (Capsicum annuum) grown in eastern Côte d'Ivoire. The analysis of the volatile compounds was made by gas chromatography coupled to the mass spectrophotometer (GC-MS). The results showed that the fresh fruits of the grown pepper cultivar contained a total of 37 compounds. Majority compounds identified in green fruits are thymol (24.60%), d-limonene (21.80%) and hexyl isovalerate (09.90%) while those identified in fresh red fruits are thymol (45.90%), hexyl isovalerate (14.90%) and linalool (05.50%). The identified compounds belong to different families of compounds: terpenes (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes), alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acids, esters, ketones and hydrocarbons. The fresh red fruits are rich in thymol and green fruits in D-limonene. This study shows that this chili cultivar has very interesting properties that can contribute to human health. As a result, this pepper could be a good pharmacological source.