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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 acidamide 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.
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