{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T00:01:53Z","timestamp":1790380913321,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,28]],"date-time":"2025-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753660800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Chili powder is a widely used seasoning whose pungency largely depends on its capsaicin content and volatile compounds.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study evaluated the capsaicin levels and pungency of three commercial chili powders labeled light, medium, and strong using a pungency meter. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed via electronic nose and headspace gas chromatography\u2013ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC\u2013IMS) coupled with multivariate statistical analyses.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Capsaicin concentrations in the medium and strong chili powders were significantly greater than those in the light group (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt;\u202f0.01). The Scoville heat unit (SHU) values were 604 (light), 1,585 (medium), and 1733 (strong). The electronic nose successfully differentiated samples on the basis of spiciness level. HS-GC\u2013IMS identified 48 VOCs, mainly aldehydes (51.74\u201355.55%) and ketones (29.93\u201332.09%). Variable importance projection (VIP\u202f&amp;gt;\u202f1, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt;\u202f0.05) highlighted 21 marker volatiles, whereas fold change analysis (FC\u202f&amp;gt;\u202f2 or &amp;lt; 0.5) identified 14 differential compounds across sample groups. Key odorants such as (E, E)-2,4-heptadienal, butanal, 3-methylbutanal, and 2,3-butanedione were associated with flavor differences among the chili powders.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Chili powders with varying spiciness levels exhibit notable differences in capsaicin content, VOC profiles, and distinctive flavor markers, which can be effectively characterized through integrated sensory and chemical analyses.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2025.1629925","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,28]],"date-time":"2025-07-28T11:11:31Z","timestamp":1753701091000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Differentiation of volatile organic compounds in chili powders of different spiciness levels via E-nose, HS-GC\u2013IMS, and chemometrics"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Shibo","family":"Zhao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Meng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yecheng","family":"Ran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhou","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruonan","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Linlin","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wengang","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"A. 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