The cult of hot chili peppers

As well as being the largest producer of chilis, India also currently holds the record for the hottest pepper. The winner is the Naga Jolokia pepper which grows in northeastern India and Bangladesh.

The ‘hotness’ of a pepper is measured on what is known as the Scoville scale. The standard bottle of a hot pepper sauce which can be found in most shops is the ‘Tabasco’ brand – which measures around 2500 – 5000 Scoville units. This however, would only prompt a dismissive reaction from the true ‘chili-head’. The Naga Jolokia, in comparison, will blast your brains sky-high with a whopping 855,000 – 1,040,000 Scoville units. The only thing stronger are pepper sprays used by the police which are rated between 2,000,000 to over 5,000,000 Scoville units.

What makes ‘em hot?

The chemical compound which makes chilli peppers feel hot is capsaicin (pronounced cap-SAY-sin) C18H27NO3.

Having dabbed a drop of ‘Turbo Suicide Sauce’ on your tongue, you’ll feel a burning sensation very quickly. Luckily for you, there is nothing actually on fire. The painful burning feeling associated with capsaicin results from it’s chemical interaction with sensory neurons, the cells responsible for carrying feeling, touch and taste to the brain.

In order to transmit information to the brain, neurons must be sensitive to receiving an input in some manner. Capsaicin bonds to a receptor called the ‘vanilloid receptor subtype 1’ (VR1). This very same receptor can be stimulated with heat or with physical abrasion. So basically, the neuron responds to the capsaicin in the same way as it would if you put a lit match under your tongue – or mangled it with a cheese grater. This is the message which is transmitted to the brain.

The important thing to remember, despite how you might feel a moment after bragging to your friends that you are mightier than the mightiest hot sauce, try to remember this through your haze of pain - a hole is not burning through your mouth.

How to stop the burning sensation

You might be sorry to hear that beer is not the cure. It’s no better than water at loosening the capsaicin from the VR1 receptors. Beer, however, might not be what you want as you’ve probably been prompted to shoot back a drop of high-Scoville rated sauce due to an alcohol induced belief in your personal invulnerability.

Some people swear that dairy products help cool the lava burning in your mouth. This may have some truth to it as milk contains the molecule casein – which is attracted to lipids such as capsaicin – and might wash the VR1 receptors clean.

If it hurts why do we do it?

Hard-core chilli eaters say that they get a rush of pleasure with each mouthful of fire. This may have a scientific explanation. As we read earlier in this article, capsaicin, the molecule that is responsible for the ‘heat’ of chilis bonds to the VR1 receptor. The chemical that actually transmits the pain signal down the nerve to the brain is known by the catchy name ‘substance P’. (perhaps that’s a bit better than ‘tachykinin, precursor 1). In any case, substance P, the pain messenger triggers another response in the brain, the release of B-endorphins. This inhibits the pain message transmitted by substance P, resulting in the dulling of the burning pain.

However, another chemical process now takes place in the brain of the individual who has gargled back more chilli sauce than they should. While substance P is responsible for the sensation of pain, it also inhibits the production of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) which regulates the production of dopamine. So now more dopamine is produced in the brain - and one of the functions of dopamine is to produce the effects of motivation and reward. Some researchers describe the effect of increased dopamine in the brain as producing the behaviour of desire and motivation – in short, ‘wanting’ something. It’s believed that this surge of dopamine produces an effect on brain neurons called ‘synaptic plasticity’ – it causes the connection between brain neurons to change in strength – which is responsible for addictive behaviour.

It seems that while your mouth feels like it’s been filled with liquid lava – the neuro-chemical cascade caused by the capsaicin will end up with your brain ‘whispering’ about how great it all feels – making you want more – stronger – hotter chili peppers.

If you know someone who you believe needs help to overcome their chilli addiction – as of the time of this writing we’re not aware of any rehabilitation programmes for chlli-heads. Then again, there aren’t any stories of lives being ruined, careers thrown away, families forgotten – all because of the tiny, innocent looking, spicy-hot, chili pepper.

For more information

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More Info

Chilliworld.com - chili recommendations and buy online!
http://www.chilliworld.com/

Capsaicin, pain and VR1
http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/mcb