Scientists reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have pinpointed three naturally occurring molecules that diminish the pungency of chili peppers—upending the century‐old reliance on the Scoville scale, which assesses heat solely by capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin levels.
Researchers led by Devin Peterson examined ten dried, powdered chili varieties—including Chile de árbol, serrano, African bird’s eye, Fatalii, and Scotch bonnet—to explore why some high-Scoville peppers deliver a surprisingly muted burn. Although each powder was standardized to 800 SHU (Scoville Heat Units) via liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry measurements of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, trained taste panels detected wide variability in perceived heat, suggesting the presence of other modifiers.
Detailed compositional analyses and advanced statistical modeling revealed five candidate compounds potentially responsible for reducing spiciness. Follow-up sensory tests—adding each compound alone or in combination to capsaicin/dihydrocapsaicin solutions—confirmed that three molecules (capsianoside I, roseoside, and gingerglycolipid A) significantly lowered perceived heat; notably, their effects did not sum when used together. Panelists also reported that none of these “spice suppressors” imparted any distinct flavor when dissolved in water.
“The discovery of natural dietary compounds that reduce pungency presents promising opportunities for both the food and pharmaceutical industries,” says Devin Peterson, the corresponding author of the study.
These findings open the door to custom-tailored flavor profiles—potentially enabling a “kitchen anti‐spice” to dial down excessive heat in recipes—and may inform the development of novel, non-opioid analgesics for pain management.
The research was funded by the Flavor Research and Education Center at The Ohio State University and approved by the university’s Ethics Committee. Read the paper’s abstract here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c01448.