What is Capsaicin?

Capsaicin is the active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is an irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact. Capsaicin and several related compounds are called capsaicinoids and are produced as a secondary metabolite by chili peppers, probably as deterrents against certain herbivores and fungi. Pure capsaicin is a hydrophobic, colorless, odorless, crystalline to waxy compound.

Brief History

The compound was first extracted in 1816 by Christian Friedrich Bucholz. He called it "capsicin," after the genus Capsicum from which it was extracted. John Clough Thresh, who had isolated capsaicin in almost pure form, gave it the name "capsaicin" in 1876. But it was Karl Micko who first isolated capsaicin in pure form in 1898. In 1873 German pharmacologist Rudolf Buchheim and in 1878 the Hungarian doctor Endre Hőgyes stated that "capsicol" (partially purified capsaicin) caused the burning feeling when in contact with mucous membranes and increased secretion of gastric juice. Capsaicin's empirical formula was first determined by E. K. Nelson in 1919; he also partially elucidated capsaicin's chemical structure. Capsaicin was first synthesized in 1930 by E. Spath and S. F. Darling. In 1961, similar substances were isolated from chili peppers by the Japanese chemists S. Kosuge and Y. Inagaki, who named them capsaicinoids.