APPARATUS FOR MEASURING CAPSAICIN IN CHILI PEPPERS

20240167980

17/772655

March 04, 2022

Proposed is an apparatus for measuring capsaicin in chili peppers. More particularly, proposed are an apparatus and a method for measuring capsaicin in chili peppers, the apparatus and the method being capable of measuring the capsaicin content of chili peppers simply and precisely. The apparatus includes: a first electrochemical measuring cell and a second electrochemical measuring cell into each of which a capsaicin extract is injected; a multiplexer electrically connected to a selected one of the first and second electrochemical measuring cells; a potentiostat applying voltage to the first or second electrochemical measuring cell and measuring an oxidation current value; and a controller controlling the potentiostat and the multiplexer to sequentially electrically connect the potentiostat to each of the first and second electrochemical measuring cells and measuring a first capsaicin content and a second capsaicin content on the basis of the oxidation current value as a function of applied voltage.

1. An apparatus for measuring capsaicin in chili pepper powder, the apparatus comprising: a first electrochemical measuring cell and a second electrochemical measuring cell into each of which a capsaicin extract extracted from chili pepper powder is injected; a multiplexer electrically connected to a selected one of the first electrochemical measuring cell and the second electrochemical measuring cell; a potentiostat configured to apply a voltage to the first electrochemical measuring cell or the second electrochemical measuring cell using cyclic voltammetry through the multiplexer and measure an oxidation current value; and a controller configured to control the potentiostat and the multiplexer to sequentially electrically connect the potentiostat to each of the first electrochemical measuring cell and the second electrochemical measuring cell, and configured to measure a first capsaicin content and a second capsaicin content on the basis of the oxidation current value as a function of applied voltage of each of the first electrochemical measuring cell and the second electrochemical measuring cell, the value being input by the potentiostat.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first input port and a second input port electrically connected to the multiplexer are provided, and each of the first electrochemical measuring cell and the second electrochemical measuring cell is provided with a connector, the respective connectors being connected to the first input port and the second input port.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each of the first electrochemical measuring cell and the second electrochemical measuring cell comprises: a measuring cell body at which the connector is installed; and an electrochemical sensor disposed in the measuring cell body, and having a working electrode, a reference electrode, and a counter electrode formed at a second side thereof and a connection terminal formed at a first side thereof and connected to the connector.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the measuring cell body comprises: a lower body having an insertion groove that is formed at a second side of an upper surface thereof and allows the electrochemical sensor to be inserted thereinto, and the connector that is installed at a first side thereof; an upper body detachably coupled to the lower body, and having a central cell portion vertically passing therethrough and an annular groove formed in a bottom surface thereof around the cell portion; and a ring-shaped sealing member inserted into the annular groove.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises: a computing unit configured to measure the first capsaicin content and the second capsaicin content on the basis of the oxidation current value as a function of voltage sequentially measured by each of the first electrochemical measuring cell and the second electrochemical measuring cell and input by the potentiostat; a reliability determining unit configured to determine measurement reliability by calculating an average value, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation (%) of the first capsaicin content and the second capsaicin content and then comparing the calculated coefficient of variation with a reference coefficient of variation; and an information outputting unit configured to output capsaicin content information to a display when reliability of measurement results is approved by the reliability determining unit.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the computing unit measures the first capsaicin content and the second capsaicin content by comparing, with a calibration curve, a peak area calculated from a voltammogram of the digitized oxidation current value as a function of voltage obtained from the first electrochemical measuring cell and a peak area calculated from a voltammogram of the digitized oxidation current value as a function of voltage obtained from the second electrochemical measuring cell.

01; 01; 01; 01

edspap.20240167980