4 ms·

IIRC the Scoville Heat Unit is “equivalent parts per million capsaicin” - so it’s already considerably hotter than pure capsaicin is (there are spicier molecule

IIRC the Scoville Heat Unit is “equivalent parts per million capsaicin” - so it’s already considerably hotter than pure capsaicin is (there are spicier molecules available).

theptip 3y ago
Pure capsaicin is 16m Scoville. Not aware of any peppers using chemicals other than capsaicin, though you are correct that other chemicals supersede capsaicin on the Scoville scale.
- bjackman 3y ago
  In the hot ones video the breeder said that there are indeed other capsinoids present and that it is key to the experience. Obviously he does have an incentive to say that! But when someone says "no, plant chemistry is more complicated than that" I'm normally inclined to believe them!
- dom96 3y ago
  Does this mean that the highest any new "hot pepper" can ever get to is 16m Scoville?
josephcsible 3y ago
I thought it was 16 million, not 1 million, so it's still not quite there yet.
messe 3y ago
You’re mistaken. Pure capsaicin is 16 million SHU. I can’t remember the exact details of how the SHU is defined, but IIRC it’s related to the number of times a substance (having been dissolved in alcohol) would have to be diluted in a solution of sugar water before the pungency is undetectable.
- isoprophlex 3y ago
  It's the dilution until pungency equals that of water / cannot be detected by a taste panel.
  - tromp 3y ago
    As Ed explains at 5:40 in the video [1] above, they use a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) test [2] rather than a subjective taste panel now. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale
_a_a_a_ 3y ago
There is a euphorbia (a hoodia? can't recall reference) with a chemical 500 times stronger than capsaicin. IIRC so strong it destroys the receptor. Anyone have a ref while I paw through my memory slowly? Edit: here it is, resiniferatoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiniferatoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiniferatoxin "Resiniferatoxin has a score of 16 billion Scoville heat units, making pure resiniferatoxin about 500 to 1000 times hotter than pure capsaicin.[...] This stimulation is followed by desensitization and analgesia, in part because the nerve endings die from calcium overload" "At 16 billion Scoville units, resiniferatoxin is rather toxic and can inflict chemical burns in minute quantities. [...] For rats, LD50 through oral ingestion is 148.1 mg/kg.[13] It causes severe burning pain in sub-microgram (less than 1/1,000,000th of a gram) quantities when ingested orally. "
- resolutebat 3y ago
  Bonus: RTX has also previously been investigated as a treatment for lifelong premature ejaculation (PE).. Volunteers for clinical trials, anyone?
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    Jesus. I hope that's administered while you're in an induced coma.
- 4oo4 3y ago
  Someone actually concentrated and taste tested some of this in a fairly scientific process, and it actually didn't end up being as hot as expected. iirc the molecule is too big to properly bind to receptors the way capsaicin can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPe2bssalOY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPe2bssalOY

IIRC the Scoville Heat Unit is “equivalent parts per million capsaicin” - so it’s already considerably hotter than pure capsaicin is (there are spicier molecules available).

theptip 3y ago

Pure capsaicin is 16m Scoville. Not aware of any peppers using chemicals other than capsaicin, though you are correct that other chemicals supersede capsaicin on the Scoville scale.

bjackman 3y ago
In the hot ones video the breeder said that there are indeed other capsinoids present and that it is key to the experience. Obviously he does have an incentive to say that! But when someone says "no, plant chemistry is more complicated than that" I'm normally inclined to believe them!
dom96 3y ago
Does this mean that the highest any new "hot pepper" can ever get to is 16m Scoville?

josephcsible 3y ago

I thought it was 16 million, not 1 million, so it's still not quite there yet.

messe 3y ago

You’re mistaken. Pure capsaicin is 16 million SHU. I can’t remember the exact details of how the SHU is defined, but IIRC it’s related to the number of times a substance (having been dissolved in alcohol) would have to be diluted in a solution of sugar water before the pungency is undetectable.

isoprophlex 3y ago
It's the dilution until pungency equals that of water / cannot be detected by a taste panel.
- tromp 3y ago
  As Ed explains at 5:40 in the video [1] above, they use a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) test [2] rather than a subjective taste panel now. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale

_a_a_a_ 3y ago

There is a euphorbia (a hoodia? can't recall reference) with a chemical 500 times stronger than capsaicin. IIRC so strong it destroys the receptor. Anyone have a ref while I paw through my memory slowly? Edit: here it is, resiniferatoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiniferatoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiniferatoxin "Resiniferatoxin has a score of 16 billion Scoville heat units, making pure resiniferatoxin about 500 to 1000 times hotter than pure capsaicin.[...] This stimulation is followed by desensitization and analgesia, in part because the nerve endings die from calcium overload" "At 16 billion Scoville units, resiniferatoxin is rather toxic and can inflict chemical burns in minute quantities. [...] For rats, LD50 through oral ingestion is 148.1 mg/kg.[13] It causes severe burning pain in sub-microgram (less than 1/1,000,000th of a gram) quantities when ingested orally. "

resolutebat 3y ago
Bonus: RTX has also previously been investigated as a treatment for lifelong premature ejaculation (PE).. Volunteers for clinical trials, anyone?
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  Jesus. I hope that's administered while you're in an induced coma.
4oo4 3y ago
Someone actually concentrated and taste tested some of this in a fairly scientific process, and it actually didn't end up being as hot as expected. iirc the molecule is too big to properly bind to receptors the way capsaicin can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPe2bssalOY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPe2bssalOY