Capsaicin

About Capsaicin

Capsaicin is the main pungent compound in chili peppers of the genus Capsicum and belongs to a group of related compounds called capsaicinoids. It produces the sensation of heat by activating TRPV1, a receptor on sensory nerve endings that also responds to high temperature, and the discovery of this receptor contributed to the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to David Julius. The pungency of peppers is traditionally rated on the Scoville scale, devised by the American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. Birds lack a capsaicin sensitive version of TRPV1, so they eat chili fruits freely and disperse the seeds. Repeated exposure to capsaicin desensitizes pain fibers, which is the basis for topical capsaicin creams and patches used for certain types of nerve and joint pain. Dietary capsaicin has been studied for effects on appetite, energy expenditure and fat oxidation, with small and variable effects, and observational studies of chili consumption and health have produced mixed findings.