Spanner71

It's so I can make my Super Louisiana Bayou Chili... OK, maybe not the reason they're hot but the reason that I'm glad they are...

bleubird

love the thought that the plants may be in charge.Could be.

auto-da-fe

Why not? This is precisely what tobacco does. Nicotine is a poison the plant developed to deter animals from eating the leaves. Taken in mass quanities, it can easily kill you.

Essentially, nicotine is an insectiside. Could be caspsaicin is a similiar deterent.

ps418

Interesting fact: capsaicin binds vanilloid receptors. VRs are calcium channels. When capsaicin binds the receptor, Ca+ flows into the cell. Interesting thing is that heat does the same thing, opens vanilloids receptor calcium channels. That's why peppers make your tongue feel 'hot.' Vannilloid receptors are concentrated on 'nociceptive' sensory neurons, neurons involved in the perception of pain. Vannilloid receptor knockout mice show much reduced pain response to capsaicin and heat.

As Coragyps and Nickle pointed out, birds, unlike mammals, have no aversion to capsaicin. Yet they still are plenty capable of detecting heat. The reason is that their VR receptors are not activated by capsaicin, but are still activated by heat. Its a good illustration of how genetic differences can explain behavioral and ecological differences.


Jordt and Julius, 2002. Molecular basis for species-specific sensitivity to "hot" chili peppers. Cell 108(3), 421-30.

Patrick

ps418

Another interesting fact is that consuming capsaicin can initiate an opioid system response, releasing dynorphin and enkephalin, which can produce a pleasant high. This normally happens when you have experienced some painful stimuli or injury, such as a burn. Capsaicin can activate the same system, without actually being injured.

Patrick

Walross

That's interesting. Would this be similar to (or the same as) the slight buzz one can get by eating too much wasabi?

Scandal

I guess I've built up a tolerance to chile peppers.......no buzz for me.

ps418

I don't know, but it may well be the same mechanism at work. Unfortunately, there is a mountain of research on capsaicin, but very little on wasabi.

Patrick

ps418

Well, buzz may not be the right word for it. I can definitely feel a high after I eat peppers, similar to a pleasant post-workout feeling, but only if I eat enough to start sweating. But it is definitely subtle compared to pharmaceutical opioids, and since I almost never eat peppers, I wouldn't have much tolerance to them.

Patrick

Rusting Car Bumper

Actually someone has bred a jalepano without it.

unbelievable but true.

DC