THE chili It is a fruit widely used in cooking because it provides food with an improvement in flavor, color and aroma. It is the second most used condiment in the world, second only to table salt (sodium chloride).
There are many species of pepper produced around the world. In Brazil, five types are the most cultivated (produced):
chili pepper
girl finger
cumari
Smelling pepper
Sweet pepper
Of these peppers mentioned, the chilli pepper is very famous due to the burning sensation (the sensation that it is burning) that it causes in our mouths when ingested. Do you know why some peppers, such as chilli peppers, make your mouth burn?
Burning is not a characteristic attributed to all peppers. Those that cause the burning are all those that have a chemical substance called capsaicin, whose molecular structure is shown below:
Structural formula of capsaicin
THE capsaicin it is produced from glands located in the pepper's placenta. This placenta is a whitish tissue in which the seeds are adhered (glued), as can be seen in the image below:
Seeds adhered to the pepper placenta
When we cause damage to the placenta, such as cutting it during food preparation, capsaicin is released. When we eat the food with pepper, capsaicin stimulates the nerve cells in our mouth. These nerve cells are connected to the trigeminal nerve, which carries the burning sensation to the brain.
The greater the amount of capsaicin released by the pepper glands, the greater the burning sensation. To measure this ardor, the SCHU scale (Scoville Heat Unit) was developed in 1912 by an American pharmacologist named Wilbur Lincoln Scoville.
The Scoville scale ranges from 0 to 16 million Scocilles (SCH). For a pepper to be considered burned, at least 100,000 Scovilles are needed. Examples of peppers that have 0 SCH are peppers and sweet beak peppers (produced in Minas Gerais). The hottest pepper in the world is called Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and is produced in Trinidad and Tobago.
Capsaicin is a substance that has neither odor nor taste, but its function goes beyond just causing a burning sensation. Scientific studies have found that capsaicin has important applications such as:
As a decongestant (in medications to unclog the nose);
As an antioxidant (as preservative of food);
As an expectorant (in cough syrups);
Improve food digestion;
Eliminate excess fluid from the body;
To eliminate bacteria from injuries, for example;
Increase secretion (production) of saliva, gastric, pancreatic and bile juices;
Prevention of stomach cancer;
Prevents stroke (cerebrovascular accident) and heart attack.
