Spicy Food Ingredient from Red Habanero By-Product Obtained by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction

The production of spicy sauces from chili peppers (<i>Capsicum</i> spp.) generates 5-30% of spicy by-product which is rich in valuable compounds (e.g., capsaicinoids, carotenoids, phenolics, etc.) and can serve as a source of <i>Capsicum</i> oleoresins, providing spice and color ingredients for food products. This study primarily focused on the optimization of <i>Capsicum</i> oleoresin extraction from Red Habanero chili pepper (<i>Capsicum chinense</i> Jacq.) by-product using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). A second focus was the comparison between UAE and reflux-assisted extraction (RAE). Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the extraction time (3 to 17 min) and acoustic power density (APD, 0.30 to 1.00 W/mL). The optimal UAE conditions (8 min, 0.87 W/mL) showed a higher extraction yield (26%) and high quality oleoresin extracts rich in bioactives (capsaicinoids: 7 mg/g; phenolics: 4 mg GAE/g) with antioxidant activity (FRAP: 139 µmol FeSO₄ eq/g; DPPH: 33 µmol TEAC/g). Optimum UAE extracts proved more colored, energy-efficient (95% less consumption), equally spicy (466,000 SHU) and had higher antioxidant activity than RAE. These results demonstrated UAE as a sustainable method for producing high value spicy additives from chili pepper by-product, turning them into products with enhanced bioactivity, favoring a circular economy in the agri-food industry.