What is Capsaicin?
Capsaicin is the chemical compound that makes chili peppers their main ingredient [1]. This gives spicy dishes their fiery punch, which thrill-seekers and foodies worldwide crave.
Chilli peppers are not only a source of spice and have a unique spicy taste, but they are also a culinary roller coaster with many health benefits. This article will tell you everything you need to know about this burning kick, whether you like spices, care about your health, or are just curious.
Key Takeaways
- Pepper Pounce: Capsaicin makes chili peppers and foods with chilis sizzle when you eat them.
- Natural Pain Reliever: It is a powerful compound that can be used to treat pain, pruritis (itching), and some types of cancer, among other things [2],[9],[20].
- Gets your metabolism going: Capsaicin is also thought to help with glucose metabolism and insulin resistance [3].
- Fire in the Stomach: Capsaicin can cause stomach, neurogenic bladder, and skin problems [4],[11].
- Hot Tears: You might have cried while chopping hot chilies. The capsaicin in them can make your eyes water because it irritates your mucous membranes.
- Pepper Spray’s Punch: Pepper sprays contain capsaicin, making them work. They are a powerful way to protect yourself, and when sprayed in the eyes, they hurt a lot and may make you temporarily blind [5].
How Does Capsaicin Work?
Capsaicin connects to the nerve endings in our bodies, especially those on our tongues. Capsaicin specifically goes after the pain and heat receptors among these receptors. Spicy food makes your mouth feel on fire when these receptors are turned on.
Now, imagine that you just bit into a fiery hot pepper. The capsaicin in these peppers starts its journey and binds to these receptors as you do this. Heat or pain often turns on these innocent receptors, but capsaicin, the master of disguise, tries to make them feel the same way.
In turn, they let out a neuropeptide called substance P, which is mainly involved in how our bodies deal with pain. Substance P sends a signal to your brain that you are feeling too hot or uncomfortable. So, the person who eats or drinks it feels a burning or stinging sensation [6].
This is not the end, though. The capsaicin binds to the receptors, which helps keep this feeling of heat and pain going until they are washed away or broken down by a glass of water or milk, whichever comes first.
Aside from the chaos caused by heat waves, capsaicin has also been studied for its possible therapeutic effects in pain management, stopping platelets from sticking together and even killing cancer cells. [9],[16]
What is the Chemical Structure of Capsicum?
Capsicum is the name of a group of flowering plants in the Solanaceae family. This includes jalapeños, habaneros, and bell peppers.
Capsaicin is the main molecule in capsicum and is responsible for the spicy or burning feeling you get when you eat these species.
Capsaicin is made up of the molecules C18H27NO3.
It is a type of alkaloid compound called a capsaicinoid. Capsaicinoids are known for having alkaline chemistry with nitrogen in them. In the family of capsicum plants, capsaicin is not the only capsaicinoid. These plants have compounds like dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and homocapsaicin.
Capsaicin is a nonpolar compound, which is why it works so well with the nonpolar cell membranes in our bodies. Because water is a polar compound, this explains why most of the time, it is not enough to wash away the remains of capsaicin after the burning symptoms have gone away [6].
What is Capsaicin in Peppers?
Capsaicin is what you need to watch out for if you want to enjoy a mildly spicy pepper or try the “One Chip Challenge.” Capsaicin is the naturally occurring chemical in peppers that gives them their unique spicy or hot taste. They are primarily found in the placenta, the thin, white tissue that holds the seeds.
The amount of capsaicin in each type of pepper is very different. Scoville Heat Units (SHU), a scale made by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912, can be used to tell the difference. On the Scoville scale, bell peppers have 0 SHU. Jalapeños have between 2,500 and 8,000 SHU, and peppers like the Carolina Reaper, which can get as hot as 2,000,000 SHU, are at the top.
Why is Capsaicin Spicy?
From a scientific point of view, spice is not a taste but a feeling of pain and heat. In response to these feelings, our brain cools down our body by making us sweat and releasing endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. All these things add up to make people feel the so-called “runner’s high” or “chili high” when they eat spicy food.
After the troublesome capsaicin gets into the mouth, it binds to the TRPV1 receptors, mostly found on the mucous membranes of the mouth. These receptors are often part of our body’s defense system against heat and pain. Capsaicin is one of the substances that can bind to these receptors and trick them into thinking they are touching something hot or painful. This starts a burning feeling [6].
Capsaicin Health Benefits
Capsaicin is good for your health in many ways. It can help ease pain, speed up metabolism, and reduce inflammation. Research also shows that it might be able to fight cancer.
⚕️ Pain Relief
Capsaicin is used in many ointments, patches, and creams on your skin. It helps with different pain levels, such as those caused by arthritis and neuropathy. The pain neurotransmitter substance P, which sends signals to the brain, is used up in this process [2].
⚕️ Metabolism Booster
Capsaicin, which is known to have thermogenic properties, makes our bodies make more heat, which speeds up our metabolism. This helps reduce body weight because it burns extra calories and fat [3].
⚕️ Reducing inflammation
Capsaicin blocks specific signals that cause inflammation in our bodies, giving it anti-inflammatory properties. [2],[18]
⚕️ Health of the heart and blood vessels
Capsaicin may contribute to heart health by improving blood cholesterol profiles, specifically by raising levels of HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol, leading to improved heart health [7].
⚕️ Help for migraines
Capsaicin creams are easy to find on the market, and putting them inside the nostrils has helped people with migraines and cluster headaches [8],[17].
⚕️ Capsaicin has anticancer properties
Recent studies show that capsaicin helps cancer cells, like those in the prostate, pancreas, and skin, go through apoptosis, which means they die [9],[15].
Can Capsaicin Hurt You or Even Kill You?
Capsaicin can be very bad for the mucous membranes that line our organs, but it is unlikely to cause something as bad as death.
It can hurt and make you feel bad if you take a lot of it or if you use it in rare or extreme ways. What you need to know is this:
- How much you eat: If you eat a lot of capsaicin, it can make your mouth, throat, and stomach burn very badly, and it can even cause stomach cramps and vomiting. In sporadic and severe cases, it could cause stress reactions in the body, such as a faster heart rate, which might feel like heart palpitations. Even though severe physiological stress is rare, it could worsen certain health problems in people who already have them [10],[19].
- Contact with Skin: Depending on how much capsaicin is in the plant and how long you touch it, you might feel a burning sensation ranging from mild discomfort to severe pain. More serious reactions can happen when the skin is exposed for a long time. These are marked by more pain and a lot of redness (erythema) [11].
- Eye Contact: If something with capsaicin gets in your eye, it can make you cry a lot, hurt a lot, and even make you temporarily blind. This is why pepper spray and other self-defense tools use this compound [5].
- Inhalation: When capsaicin gets into the airways, it can irritate the nose and cause coughing, sneezing, and trouble breathing. People with lung diseases like asthma are more likely to be hurt in these situations [10].
- Allergic reactions: Capsaicin can cause allergic reactions in some people, which can be bad for their health.
Can Capsaicin Burn Your Skin?
Capsaicin can make nerve endings in the skin more active, especially those that help us feel hot. But the burning depends on how much capsaicin there is and how sensitive the skin is.
Some people might feel a mild tingling, while others might feel like their skin is burning badly. In rare cases, long-term exposure could cause severe inflammation that leads to burns or redness on the skin’s surface [11].
Because of this, it is best to:
- Wear gloves when chopping or handling chili peppers.
- Wash your hands after touching the peppers and avoid touching your face, especially your nose and eyes, while and after handling them.
- If you get capsaicin on your skin and it makes you uncomfortable, wash the area with oil-based solutions or dairy products.
What Counteracts Capsaicin?
Capsaicin is a molecule that dissolves in fat but not in water. Because of this, water alone will never be enough to take away the burn from a spice.
On the other hand, dairy products have a protein called casein, which can mix with the capsaicin molecules so that detergent can mix with grease. This separates the capsaicin molecules from your mouth and throat receptors, reducing the burning feeling.
One of the best ways to get rid of the capsaicin molecules is to eat or drink the following[12]:
- Milk: Because whole milk has more fat than skim milk, it is thought to be a good way to wash down chunks of spicy food that make your mouth burn.
- Yogurt: When you eat Indian or Middle Eastern food, you must have yogurt on the table. After a spicy bite, its smooth texture is a welcome relief.
- Cheese: The fat molecules in cheese, like the fat molecules in milk, help break up capsaicin.
- Ice cream: It does double duty because it has the fat needed to get rid of the capsaicin, and it is cool and soothing when you have a chili burn.
Products with Capsaicin
- Hot sauces and spices: Capsaicin is the main ingredient in hot sauces, chili powders, and other spicy condiments. [1]
- Pain-Relieving Creams and Patches: Capsaicin is known to be an analgesic, which makes it a good ingredient for over-the-counter creams, gels, and patches. [6]
- Dietary supplements: Capsaicin is often used to help people lose weight because it speeds up the metabolism and makes people less hungry. [3]
- Self-Defense Sprays: Because capsaicin can irritate the mucous membranes in the eyes and nose, it is an important part of self-defense pepper sprays. [5]
- Pest repellents: Capsaicin can keep plant-related pests away, so it is a natural part of many plant and garden sprays that keep pests away. [13]
Foods with Capsaicin
- Chilli Peppers: All chilli peppers, except bell peppers, have their own amount of capsaicin.
- Spicy Food: Ingredients high in capsaicin are used in Mexican, Thai, Indian, and Szechuan food.
- Salsa and dips: Capsaicin gives salsa, hot sauces, and spicy dips their fiery kick.
- Spicy snacks: Many of our favorite brands of spicy chips or nuts have a lot of capsaicin in them.
- Hot soups and stews: Capsaicin gives spicy ramen and chilli soup their heat.
FAQ about capsaicin
Capsaicin is found in which peppers?
Capsaicin is in all hot peppers, but the amount varies. Peppers with many capsaicin, like the Carolina Reaper or the Ghost Pepper, are known for this.
Can capsaicin kill bacteria?
Yes, capsaicin can kill certain types of bacteria because it is an antimicrobial. [14]
Is there a pepper that doesn't have capsaicin?
Yes, bell peppers are not spicy because they don't have capsaicin, which makes them hot.
What's the purpose of capsaicin cream?
Pain can be eased with capsaicin cream. It makes nerves less sensitive and is especially good for arthritis or neuropathic pain.
The Sizzling Secrets About Capsaicin Every Spice Lover Should Know
Capsaicin, the spicy chemical found in chili peppers, is a very interesting substance that does more than just give our food a spicy kick. Capsaicin is a true miracle of nature, from how it affects our senses to how it helps our bodies. So, the next time you take a bite of your favorite spicy dish, keep in mind that it’s hotter than it seems.