Chili pepper is the fruit of plants
from the genus Capsicum, members of the
nightshade family, Solanaceae.
Chili peppers originated in the
Americas and have been a part
of the human diet in the Americas since
at least 7500 BC. There is
archaeological evidence at sites located
in southwestern Ecuador chili peppers
were domesticated more than 6000 years
ago and is one of the first cultivated
crops in the Americas that is
self-pollinating.
Christopher Columbus was one of the
first Europeans to encounter them in the
Caribbean and called them "peppers"
because of their similarity in taste
with the Old World black peppers of the
Piper genus.
Chilies were cultivated around the globe
after Diego Αlvarez Chanca, a
physician on Columbus' second voyage to
the West Indies in 1493, brought the
first chili peppers to Spain, and first
wrote about their medicinal effects in
1494.
From Mexico, at the time the Spanish
colony controlled commerce with Asia,
chili peppers spread rapidly
incorporated into the local cuisines in
the Philippines and then to India,
China, Korea and Japan.
The substances that give chili
peppers intensity when ingested or
applied topically are capsaicin
(8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and
several related chemicals, collectively
called capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the
primary ingredient in pepper spray.
When consumed, capsaicinoids bind with
pain receptors in the mouth and throat
that are responsible for sensing heat.
Once activated by the capsaicinoids,
these receptors send a message to the
brain the person has consumed something
hot. The brain responds to the burning
sensation by raising the heart rate,
increasing perspiration and release of
endorphins. A 2008 study reports
capsaicin alters how the body's cells
use energy produced by hydrolysis of
ATP. In the normal hydrolysis the SERCA
protein uses this energy to move calcium
ions into the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
When capsaicin is present, it alters the
conformation of the SERCA, and thus
reduces the ion movement; as a result
the ATP energy stimulates the bodys
burning of fat by increasing the
metabolism of the bodys adipose tissue,
generating heat helping to lose weight.
The "heat" of chili peppers is measured
in Scoville heat units (SHU), which is
the number of times a chili extract must
be diluted in water for it to lose its
heat. Bell peppers rank at 0 SHU, New
Mexico green chilis at about 1,500 SHU,
jalapeρos at 3,0006,000 SHU, and
habaneros at 300,000 SHU. The record for
the hottest chili pepper was assigned by
Guinness World Records to the naga
jolokia (from northeastern India),
measuring over 1,000,000 SHU. Pure
capsaicin, which is a hydrophobic,
colorless, odorless, and
crystalline-to-waxy solid at room
temperature, measures 16,000,000 SHU.
