from 'A
Modern Herbal'
Botanical: Capsicum minimum
(ROXB.)
Family: N.O. Solanaceae
Synonyms---African Pepper. Chillies. Bird Pepper.
Part Used---Fruit, ripe and dried.
Constituents---Capsaicin, a red colouring matter, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids.
Habitat---Zanzibar - but now grown in most tropical and sub-tropical countries.
Description---Cayenne or Capsicum derives its name from the Greek, 'to bite,' in allusion to the hot pungent properties of the fruits and seeds.
Cayenne pepper was introduced into Britain from India in 1548, and Gerard mentioned it as being cultivated in his time. The plant was described by Linnaeus under the name of C. frutescens proper. This species appeared in Miller's Garden Dictionary in 1771. It is a shrubby perennial plant 2 to 6 feet high. Branches angular, usually enlarged and slightly purple at the nodes; petioles
medium; peduncles slender, often in pairs, and longer
than the fruit; calyx cup-shaped, clasping base of fruit which is red, ovate, and long; seeds small and flat, from ten to twenty-nine. The cuticle of the pericarp is uniformly striated and in this particular is distinct from other species. Taste very pungent and smell characteristic. It is difficult to determine the source of true powdered Capsicum, as the colour is affected by light, so that it should always be kept in dark receptacles. African
pepper is generally light brownish-yellow colour and very pungent; its pungency appears to depend on a principle called
Capsicin. Cayenne is sometimes adulterated with oxide of red lead, which may be detected by digesting in dilute nitric acid. Other adulterants are coloured sawdust
which can be found by the aid of the microscope. The British Pharmacopceia requires that capsicum should yield not more than 6 per cent of ash, and this test detects the presence of most adulterants.
Medicinal Action and Uses---A powerful local stimulant, with no narcotic effect largely used in hot climates as a condiment, and most useful in atony of the intestines and stomach. It should not be used in ordinary gastric catarrh. For persons addicted to drink it seems to be useful possibly by reducing the dilated blood-vessels and thus relieving chronic congestion. It is often added to tonics and is said to be unequalled for warding off diseases. Herbalists use it largely in pill form and powdered. Externally it is a strong rubefacient and acts gently with no danger of
vesication; is applied as a cataplasm or as a liniment; it can be mixed with 10 to 20 per cent of cotton-seed oil. The powder or the tincture is beneficial for relaxed uvula. A preparation in use in the West Indies called
Mandram, for weak digestion and loss of appetite, is made of thinly sliced and unskinned cucumbers, shallots, chives, or onions, lemon or lime juice, Madeira, and a few pods of bird pepper well mashed up in the liquids. It can be used as a chutney.
Doses---For a gargle: 1/2 drachm of powder to 1 pint of boiling water, or 1/2 fluid ounce of the tincture to 8 fluid ounces of rose water. If the throat is very sensitive it can be given in pill form - generally made with 1 to 10 grains powder. The infusion is made with 2 drachms to 1/2 pint
boiling water taken in 1/2 fluid ounce doses. The tincture is used as a paint for chilblains.
See PAPRIKA (listed as a synonym of Pepper, Hungarian).
What Makes Peppers
Hot May Also Be Cool For What Ails You
The word 'capsaicin' doesn't
exactly roll over the tongue easily, but this is
especially appropriate since it is the name of the
chemical that makes peppers hot and gives a surprisingly
wide variety of other products a real bite.
Chemical & Engineering News, the newsmagazine
published by the American Chemical Society, the world's
largest scientific society, in its Nov. 3 issue traces
the pepper family history and explains why the vegetable
can produce a fast burn.
Capsaicin is an extremely powerful and stable alkaloid
produced as a crystal by glands at the junction of the
pepper's placenta and pod walls, according to Dave
DeWitt, known as the "Pope of Pepper" and
publisher of Fiery Foods & BBQ magazine. The
chemical is found only in chili peppers.
DeWitt says capsaicin puts the sting in pepper spray, is
used in repellent sprays to protect gardens from animal
pests, and chemists are now developing an
environmentally safe marine coating made with capsaicin
that will stop barnacles from growing. The chemical also
stimulates circulation, triggers pain receptor cells to
release helpful endorphins, and is used in various drugs
to ease the pain of arthritis and other ailments,
C&EN reports.
The exploration of the chemistry of capsaicin dates to
1816 when P.A. Bucholtz found that the pungent principle
of peppers could be extracted from the pods using
organic solvents, according to the newsmagazine. In
1846, L.T. Thresh reported in a published paper that the
main chemical component of peppers could be removed in a
crystalline state and he named this chemical capsaicin.
The most well known lab work on the chemical was done by
Wilbur Scoville, who in 1912 convened a panel of
tasters, who rated the heat of different peppers,
C&EN reports. And today the Scoville scale of units
is the "rule of tongue" for rating pepper
heat. For pepper lovers, the hottest rating at
300,000-500,000 goes to habaňero peppers, compared
to a mere 2,500 for the fabled jalapeņo. Despite the
high reading of 500,000, capsaicin in peppers is not
likely to hurt anyone. The reading for pure capsaicin in
the Scoville scale is 16 million.
In addition to pleasing many peoples' palates, chili
peppers are a good source of vitamins A, C and E, rich
in folic acid and potassium, low in calories and sodium,
and contain no carbohydrates, C&EN says.
Another scientific fact imparted by the newsmagazine
that capsaicin breaks down in fats is good news for
dessert lovers who may need to turn down the pepper
heat. That is, something cold, sweet and flavored with
chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry certainly can help put
out that fire.
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about cayenne
