Abstract
There are three plausible bioconversion pathways in biodegradation mechanism of capsaicinoids; first, side chain degradation through $\omega$-hydroxylation and $\beta$-oxidation, secondly, aromatic ring hydroxylation, and lastly, hydrolysis on the acidaraide linkage. In microbes, it was reported that capsaicin and its synthetic, analog, nonoylvanillylamide(NVA), could be metabolized to N-vanillylcarbamoylbutyric acid via $\omega$-hydroxylation and consecutive $\beta$-oxidations by Aspergillus niger. In order to broaden the scope of microbial degradation of capsaicinoids, over thirty strains of various fungi including Aspergillus, Penicillum, Mycotypha, Gliocladium, Paecilomyces, Byssoclamys, Conidiobolus, Thamnidium, and Entomophthora. It was observed that almost all the strains examined oxidized, the side chain of capsaicids as A. niger did. These observations strongly support the notion that side chain degradation is the most dominant pathway in the microbial degradation of capsaicinoids.