India, known as the world's largest producer of fresh peppers and chillies, exhibits significant
regional variations in the morpho-physiochemical characteristics of its chilli fruits. In this
study, we conducted gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to
compare the phytochemical constituents in four distinct Capsicum annuum L. varieties viz.
Byadgi chilli, Mundu chilli, Bullet chilli, and Jwala chilli, were collected from four different
agroecological regions across India. Our GC-MS analysis revealed consistent peaks
corresponding to various capsaicinoids and non-capsaicinoid compounds in the ethanolic
extracts of all four varieties of C. annuum, albeit with varying proportions. These compounds
include capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, n-hexadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester, and
Z, Z-9,12-octadecadienoic acid. Additionally, unique spectrum profiles of several specific
compounds were detected, distinguishing particular varieties from each other. This highlights
how agroecological conditions dynamically influence the nature of active compounds.