Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Capsaicin extraction and isolation

Capsaicin extraction and isolation

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ADP - 12-2-2006 at 18:06

Quote:

from Wikipedia:
The chemical compound capsaicin (C18H27NO3) (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is the active component of chile peppers (Capsicum). It is an irritant for mammals including humans and produces a sensation of burning in the mouth. Capsaicin and several related compounds are called capsaicinoids and are produced as a secondary metabolite by certain plants of the genus Capsicum (chile peppers), probably as deterrants against herbivores. Pure capsaicin is a lipophilic colorless odorless crystalline to waxy compound.

Some of the properties of this compound include a molecular mass of 305.41 g/mol and a melting point of 62 - 65°C. I'm not sure of solubilities of this compound but believe that is it soluble in ethanol and in oils. I want to try an extraction. Basically I believe that I can reflux dried red pepper seeds in ethanol and filter in filter paper while hot. The filtrate I can boil down and crash with water (assuming capsaicum is insoluble in water) to recover the waxy crystals of capsaicin.

Does this method seem like it would work? Any suggestions?

The_Davster - 12-2-2006 at 18:36

I gave it a shot a few weeks back using only 2 really hot homegrown chillies. Used acetone and ground dried hot pepper in acetone, mag stirring for 8h. I got a bright red solution which I filtered of pepper parts and left the acetone to evaporate. I was left with a small ammount of red ooze in the bottom of the beaker. Seeing as there was so little of it I decided to flush it, and while I was washing the beaker a small particle must have become airborne which I preceeded to breathe in. YOWEE

Be carefull

I plan on growing some Red Savina this summer so I can give capsaicin extraction another try. Ideally I want to end up with a white crystalline product.

http://www.rowan.edu/biology/faculty/obrien/GBPP.Hot%20Peppe...

The hard part is separating the capsaicin from the capsiacinoids

[Edited on 13-2-2006 by rogue chemist]

BromicAcid - 12-2-2006 at 19:47

There is one nitrogen atom there that might help to facilitate an acid/base type reaction. I was personally thinking about doing the same extraction by coincidence a few weeks ago, I like my food hot and the food suppliers that sell "Pure Cap" charge quite large sums of money, I find it strange that the brand "Pure Cap" has a scoville rating of only 500,000 (I say 'only' as a relative comparison) the hottest sauce that I was able to find has a rating of 16,000,000

Here is a good site:

http://www.sweatnspice.com/hottest_sauces.php

So yeah, extracting my own capsaicin could save me $$$ considering the hottest sauces sell for over $200 for small amounts.

12AX7 - 12-2-2006 at 21:26

Considering an Habanero is around 250k Scovilles, you'll need to concentrate it roughly 100x, i.e., 1% yield at best. Which I suppose isn't bad in regards to plant yields, depending on your point of view.

If you've been cooking much (surely you have!

), you'll note the heat always concentrates in the fat. I'd go for a lipophilic solvent; paint thinner (mineral spirits) might work nicely if you don't intend on eating it (I should hope not, at that strength

). That might evaporate a bit slowly, so heck, alcohol or acetone probably work fine. How about say, ether, ordinary or petroleum type?

And you're right, an alkaloid extraction might well do something. Seems to me with all the hydrocarbon hanging off, you'd end up with something like a fricking spicy detergent, though!

Tim

The_Davster - 12-2-2006 at 22:34

I want some capsaicin for cooking purposes as well, so as non-toxic a method as possible is of course. I plan on starting with a large number of peppers and doing the extraction with some everclear or the most concentrated drinking grade alcohol possible to get the red oil of capsaicin and capsaicinoids, for most cooking purposes the oil is likely fine, or perhaps better as each capsaicinoid has its own type of burn, so a mix would give a much nicer, broader burn.

Separating them via acid/base extraction I would think would be complicated by the fact that it is an amide nitrogen and too much/too hot base could break up the amide bond. I have no experiance with the acid/base extraction of amides(only ever done amines), so I might be rambling....

Kind of off topic but...

Quote:

Maybe rogue chemist has fondness for cajun food , three alarm chili , and slices onions with a smile

You know the sort that eats hot peppers like they were celery sticks , peppers which would be lethal to the average person

Now how did rosco predict my fondness for spicy food before I ever acquired a tase for them....

Darkblade48 - 12-2-2006 at 22:51

Quote:

Originally posted by BromicAcid
... the hottest sauce that I was able to find has a rating of 16,000,000

What's weird is that from my source, pure capsaicin has a rating of 16 million Scoville units (it wasn't a sauce)

BromicAcid - 12-2-2006 at 22:59

Hence why sauce was in ittalics. It was crystals of the pure capsaicin but it is sold on that hot sauce site. Pure capsaicin is scary, a crystal on the skin supposedly causes destructive damage, I couldn't imagine what a crystal in the mouth would be like. Scary like boiling drain cleaner scary, right up my alley.

[Edited on 2/13/2006 by BromicAcid]

innervision - 12-2-2006 at 23:47

I would love to have pure capsaicin, but even if there is an easy method of extracting it, I don't think I would do it... Not without an astronaut suit. It will blister your skin on contact and can stop breathing. Nasty stuff.

I did however, make a very strong habanero oil:

I chopped 1lb. of orange habs into small peices and dehydrated in an oven on the lowest setting.
I then crumbled them up into a powder, placed into a 400mL beaker and topped it off with isopropanol.
Then I gave it a mad stirring, let it sit, followed by another mad stirring.
I poured the now orangeish liquid through a coffee filter to yield a very nice looking bright orange liquid.
I placed the beaker on a hot plate and evaporated most of it, then using an eyedropper I filled up a ~1mL vial with the concentrated dark red solution and placed it onto the hotplate.
Everytime the vial had more room I would add more drops of the dark red capsaicinoid solution into it to top it off.
I did this until all the liquid from the 400mL beaker was gone.
My yield was about (i'm guessing here) 0.5mL of very dark red, very thick oil that hardens in the fridge.

This stuff is unbelievably hot! I dip the very end of a toothpick into the surface of the oil (nowhere near a drop's worth) and it will heat up my entire mouth and my ears will tingle and i'll be suffering nicely

I have some Pure-Cap and I can honestly say that it is like tap water compared to this stuff I made.

innervision - 13-2-2006 at 00:16

Here are some pics displaying its viscosity. I store it in the fridge, and when it warms up becomes a viscous oil, as you can see in the "Upside down with drip."

Chris The Great - 13-2-2006 at 00:36

Quote:

Originally posted by BromicAcid
Scary like boiling drain cleaner scary, right up my alley.

Well I'm sure that would spice up your food as well, and be far cheaper. Other alternatives could be lewisite (mustard gas wouldn't work, since you'd eat the food and only get the 'spicy' until a few hours later). Perhaps an application of tear gas would spice it up (anyone tasted chloropicrin?).

On a more on topic note, pepper spray should yield large amounts of the desired chemical with a simple extraction. Might be cheaper than a crate of super-hot peppers. From what I've seen it is up to 10% capsaicin depending on the brand.

unionised - 13-2-2006 at 02:15

Since the nitorgen in capsaicin is in an amide I think it won't be very basic. By the time you have a strong enough acid to protonate it, hydrolysis will set in.
I think a major part of the problem with purification would be removing the fats from the extract. If I wanted to do this I might try chromatography.

chemoleo - 13-2-2006 at 17:59

There's a presentation I once did on a variety of 'taste' receptors, which included capsaicin, whose action is sensed by heat receptors. Essentially, capsaicin mimics the action of heat, similar to menthol mimicking the action of cold.

Attached are excerpts of that presentation. It's also got the original reference (some nature paper), where the extraction of capsaicin is described. If you want I can dig out that paper at a later time.

Attachment: capsaicin.pdf (427kB)
This file has been downloaded 4303 times

Oleoresin capsaicin

Flip - 5-3-2006 at 08:43

I remember hearing from a salesman that the hottest peppers you can find will still only be in the range of 5000 Scoville units... police strength pepper spray on the other hand is around 2,000,000 Scoville heat units. I'm not sure if the oleoresin is what you're after, but this might be a source.

Ramiel - 5-3-2006 at 22:03

Perhaps a little light can be shed on extraction with he following anecdote:
Probably the most pain I've been in in my life apart from shattering a bone into pieces (just to give you a reference) was from eating some leftover Chinese food. It was a "chilli & tomato omelette" (obviously with some rice) dish which had been made in the morning and left to sit in it's oily putrescence under heat-lamps in a little plastic container for hours on end. The omelette was fine, just a little bit of hot coming from the dried chillies (~ 5-7 cm long, deep red - very common I think) - countered pleasantly with the sweet tomato. I got to the bottom and saw that after finishing all the rice and then omlette, a single red chilli had escaped, along with a puddle of oil (I assume vegetable oil of the cheapest brand)... given how much I enjoyed the meal and not thinking too much about the chemistry of what I was doing, i scoffed the whole lot down... started chewing...

Let me relate to you the sensations for science’s [read:humour’s] sake, and to demonstrate how I come to my conclusion?
Okay; Immediately, a pleasant warm sensation: thinking "wow, that's nice and hot"... "Yea, really hot, I wonder if I can actually finish this? Better start to chew it up!

" *chew* *chew* *chew*... at this point the subject realises that something is amiss, the eyes start to water, mouth starts to burn, the skin on my head starts to crawl, the outside of my face and lips start to burn… 5 seconds later, salivary glands go hawire, cough and gag reflex starts to kick in, eyes watering too badly to see five yards ahead. Subject spits out the offending matter – too late, mouth is burning with an industrial quality, very acrid and blistering sensation, breathing becomes laboured wheezing amongst coughs… I stumble to the nearest toilet and vomit (I hope we are all being scientific at this time and not smirking!). This goes on for a good five minutes while the subject consumes litres of water and gargles desperately with any chemically active mouthwash/foodstuff he can think of. Pain. Agony!
I realised that at the end of the ordeal (and I have come to call it that) that I was crying, not out of any tearing reflex, but out of pain, hatred and self pity. I’m not a big cryer, having cried perhaps 5 times in my adult life… this was certainly one of them.

So I concluded that most of the capsaicin from all of the chillies was extracted in the organic vegetable oil, due to the mild nature of the eaten chillies (with seeds) and the contrasting EVIL of the oil vis uneaten chilli (or “Rambo chilli” as I have come to call him). Recall that they were simply cooked in oil, then put in a closed container with heat (kept above 60*C as per hygiene regulations) for 4-7 hours. I should like to repeat the experiment under controlled conditions tonight, and will get back to you, since vegetable oil is a food friendly solvent. I suppose we’ll all know by tomorrow whether I’m just a pansy, a silk shirted sissy, or a simple idiot.
Thankyouforyourtime
Ramiel

innervision - 6-3-2006 at 21:55

I vote for sissy

.
I remember a friend who ate a whole chile from some unknown Mexican plant in his front yard. He dropped to his knees, claiming he could barely breathe. A while later (after more chiles eaten) he ate one without too much fuss. He did have to go get water though.

Back then I could barely eat a tiny chunk of a habanero, but now I can pop one in my mouth and chew it to a fine consistency and swallow without too much of a spectacle, and no water until the burning stops.

I think you're just not used to capsaicinoids yet. The oil in your mouth surely didn't help, but give it time and practice...

Ramiel - 8-3-2006 at 00:21

Naw, I conducted the "extraction" with a few different oils.. one was a cheap as chips "sunola" oil (which I suspect the resteraunt to have used), then olive oil, then plain "black and gold vegetable oil" (okay, so I'm a cheap student). The sunola oil seemed to work the best. After heating some chopped chillies in the oven (closed container) for a few hours, the sunola was clearly the spiciest of the oils, while all of them definitely had a little warmth in them.

My father is a sadist, he dared me to eat a tablespoon of tobasco when I was a wee three years old. From this harsh upbringing, I have learnt to love chillies, and am rarely bothered by them, but what really shocked me regarding the above experience were the involuntary physiological responses.

I suspect that if you heated the sunola oil/chopped chilli mix you’d get a very favourable extraction of capsaicin in an edible medium.

Some capsaicin data...

kazaa81 - 8-3-2006 at 04:26

Here is some capsaicin data, from Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 85th edition.

Capsaicin

C18H27NO3
CAS #: 404-86-4
Mol. 305.412 g/mol
Form: monoclinic plates or scales (from petroleum ether)
M.P. 65°C
B.P. 215^0.01°C
Insoluble in H2O;
very soluble in EtOH;
soluble in diethyl ether, benzene, petroleum ether;
slightly soluble in concentrated HCl;

capsaicin-structure.jpg - 5kB

innervision - 8-3-2006 at 05:01

Lol. When I was three, I don't think I knew what a dare even was!

Extraction with oils would only work for food, and it would only be medium spicy. (Don't get me wrong - I'm comparing it to the IPA extraction I did).

I too am a sucker for those involuntary physiological responses. I start to hiccup like crazy, then my eyes start dripping like a faucet. Even when it's not too hot.

Nerro - 8-3-2006 at 14:09

In response to kazaa81, If one were to distill cheap wodka something in the region of 80% EtOH and (pretty much) 20% water would be obtained. Grind the chiles, put them in the "wodka" under gentle reflux with good stirring for a few hours, filter and then crash in icecold water. That should precipitate a lot of the capsaicin right?

[Edited on Wed/Mar/2006 by Nerro]

innervision - 8-3-2006 at 17:38

Wrong. There definately would be capsaicin in it, but chiles have many capsaicinoids that are alcohol soluble. Which capsaicinoids and in what ratio depends on what type of chile you're using. There also would be other oils from the chiles that might crash out too. You wouldn't end up with a crystalline capsacin product.

Nerro - 9-3-2006 at 08:36

I meant dried chiles, and if it's for food purposes that means you want all the capsainoids.

[Edited on Thu/Mar/2006 by Nerro]

lordmagnus - 9-3-2006 at 21:32

I remember watching something on TV about Capsaician extraction, the absolute pure kind is a fluffy white powder, they have to wear overpressure suits (think the nuclear reactor scene in James Bond "Docotor NO"). The pure stuf can be like nerve gas, and kill with just a few flakes, this is diluted down and made into those topical pain medications, although I think spraying MACE onthe injury would be cheaper and just as effective.

innervision - 9-3-2006 at 21:55

Quote:

I meant dried chiles, and if it's for food purposes that means you want all the capsainoids.

Soaking dried chiles in alcohol won't give pure capsaicinoids + alcohol.

If it's for food, then why would you want crystals. Trying to kill someone? For food, you would have to redissolve them in a LOT of something, so why even go as far as to obtain crystals? Not even the most chile-tolerant person on the planet could take a sprinkle of capsaicin on his food.

I did try the crashing in ice water thing with saturated IPA. The water just turned orange/brown.

densest - 16-3-2006 at 18:33

A long long time ago on USENET the subject of capsaicin came up. According to a neurobiologist who posted, capsaicin is a neurotoxin. It first irritates the substance P neurons, causing pain. More of it disables the neurons, causing "tolerance" of capsaicin. Most of the time, the neurons regrow or recover, causing the loss of tolerance. The disabling of pain neurons is the behavior exploited in the capsaicin pain cream. Very potent stuff!

A possible food-grade extraction process would be to grind chiles in food-grade vegetable oil or (gasp!) lard, then extract the oil with more volatile solvents. The pigments in the chiles are less soluble in oil than the capsaicin.

lordmagnus - 16-3-2006 at 22:14

Actually Capsaicin interfeers with the P-substance in neurons that transmit pain, but like I was saying in a previous reply, the absolutly pure stuff is handeled in the overpressure suits to protect the workers, it's like nerve gas at that purity..

densest - 16-3-2006 at 22:30

There's also a crude but effective extraction procedure: vaporize the capsaicin at 220C in hot oil. Condense the vapors. The resulting goo is potent.

minordemocritus - 28-3-2006 at 19:03

after entertaining the though of various uses for concentrated capsaicin, i learned of the lovely transdermal properties of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). it turns out that since DMSO is only slightly polar, it dissolves capsaicin rather nicely, on the order of 15 (synthetic) to 19 (oleoresin USP liquid) g/100ml.

the only problem is knowing the full effects of a capsaicin/DMSO solution on a human, and LD50 per concentration and dose. i propose unethical testing on arbitrary bad people.

Swany - 29-3-2006 at 21:13

I obtained 1 lb of habenaros for this expirement, to be similar to innervision's.

I plan on extracting with denat. EtOH. I belive it is denatured with 4% methanol, does this sound plausible?

This is great fun. Wear gloves while your chopping, guess who didn't... yeah. Me. I licked my thumb, and I was greeted with a warmth, and then I unconciously rubbed my nose and inhaled. Followning this was a rather painful burning sensation... I love this stuff.

I googled 'capsaicinoid extraction' and the first thing that came up was this link: http://asae.frymulti.com/abstract.asp?aid=9709&t=1

If I am interpeting this correctly, they just popped it in the microwave at low power for a bit? Essentially? I could be (and probably am) totally wrong... either way. It would seem they are dealing with raw fruits though, and I will be using dried powdered.

DrP - 30-3-2006 at 04:21

Quote:

Wear gloves while your chopping, guess who didn't...

Hmm... My friends house mate made a very powerfull curry. He went to the bathroom after chillie chopping and forgot to wash his hands before going...... AGONY apparently... lots of screaming and tears!!!....

Beware! It's not just the mouth that smarts when chillie juice is applied...

12AX7 - 30-3-2006 at 10:13

One time I chopped up a jalapeno and didn't wash my hands... after I ate I was scratching my nuts and a pleasant warmness was discovered.

Tim

innervision - 2-4-2006 at 02:38

I don't have sensitive enough fingers to need gloves, but I know some people that get burned at the stake from touching even jalapenos. Strange eh? I know capsaicinoids burn people's mouths differently, but the fingers?

Oh, and Swany, DON'T burn the habs in the oven. You will be choked out of the house, and the oil will have a distinct burned taste. I know it's tempting to smell something smoking right out of the oven, but you'll regret breathing smoking chiles.

It's kind of like putting chiles in a blender with a lid then taking the lid off, and inhaling over the mouth of the blender jar, deeply.

The microwave article eludes me. I don't have access to that database.

Swany - 2-4-2006 at 07:01

No, it not my hands that were burning, rather, every mucus membrane that they touched. I used the lowest setting, then mother graciously donated her dehydrator to use. Currently they are sitting under denat. alch for the weekend, as I am out of town.

innervision - 3-4-2006 at 02:00

Lol. That reminds me of a story. I made some friends some rolls on the same cookie sheets I dried the habs on. The bottom of those rolls just about burned their mouths off. I even washed the cookie sheet pretty well, I thought.

Don't be surprised when you mom eats some flamin' hot dried apples some day soon.

The_Davster - 6-5-2006 at 17:38

I recieved and planted my seeds for Red savina habenero and hotazel chillis. I also bought little plants locally of cayenne, thai dragon, and super chilli. A couple of them are known for 'prolific production' so by the end of the summer I should have lots of chillis

And of course after that will follow some sort of massive capsaicin extraction experiment.

And of course I will make some pretty potent chilli

EDIT: My fingers were burning just from handling the damp seeds

[Edited on 7-5-2006 by rogue chemist]

UniversalSolvent - 2-6-2006 at 18:42

innervision's oil production looks like something I might want to try. Is it possible to substitute different peppers but use the same process, and obtain an oil of that pepper?

[Edited on 3-6-2006 by UniversalSolvent]

Ramiel - 3-6-2006 at 00:04

One of my friends attempted to isolate capsaicin as well, it looked a lot like innervision's oil. Lost potency over about a year, but a fraction of a fraction of a drop still has a little warmth.

Could I reccomend some kind of chromatography to isolate the oils? Apparently, extraction with 95% ethanol saturated with sodium acetate at 60*C for 3 hours gets all the capsaicinoids out. Liquid chromatography with solvents "48.4% methanol, 30.2% HPLC grade water, 13.3% dioxane, 7.9% acetonitrile, 0.2% of 2% perchloric acid".[<a href="http://www.zarc.com/english/cap-stun/tech_info/oc/hplc.html">reference</a>] This seems to be fairly standard, with some alcohol (Me/Et/PrOH) and notably perchloric acid. I can't imagine what the perchloric acid does, but it seems universal in all such extractions.
"The first peak is the pigment peak, the second peak is capsaicin, the third peak is capsaicinoid.", pretty straight forward!

Column used was a low pore size silica column, 18% carbon. I could reccomend just using alumina!

P.S. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset_Naga">Hottest chillie in the world?</a>, "[people prefer to consume it by] touching the food with the pepper instead [of preparing it]." !

[re: rogue chemist, I only mentioned the exact elutant for posterity, I'm sure one could use any watered down alcohol mix... Not too sure what the perchloric acid does still - I guess protonating everything, but it couldn't hurt to include it.]

[Edited on 3-6-2006 by Ramiel]

The_Davster - 3-6-2006 at 09:50

Mmm dioxane and acetonitrile...tasty...

The ethanol/sodium acetate method seems quite interesting, if it extracts all the capsaicin, what percentage of the capsaicin does the usual ethanol extraction get out?

This is just my opinion, but other than a few articles and a link to the discoverer's homepage, which supposeldy sells the seeds(I couldent find them), there is not much on these peppers. I am not completly sure they actually exist. Mainly based on the fact that noone had any seeds they could sell me.

kclo4 - 17-6-2006 at 01:29

Would steam distilltion be impossible?
The Boiling Point of Capsaicin is 210-220 degrees Centigrade so you would have to super heat the water i would think, making it a dry steam distilltion

Here is some stuff about it i find interesting http://www.chilliworld.com/chilli_FAQ.asp

Swany - 20-6-2006 at 13:44

I thought it sublimes. I may attempt to purify my obtained capsaicinoids through this. I obtained the product described on the first page. My liquid was a dark red, however, his was oarnge. I think my extraction was more effecient, however.

I have found some important parts to making the extraction effecient;
1) Refux
2) Use a proper solvent, denat. alch works well if the denaturant is MeOH; 70% isopropyl isnt the best
3) Make sure the dried habenaros are a fine powder

Breaking Down of Capsaicin

denatured - 7-9-2006 at 07:08

I'm addicted to pepper and chilis ... really .. I cannot eat anything unless it contains a considerable amount of capsaicin .... the problem is that I realized that it is seldom digested ! ... and that makes certain moments of my life bad ... very bad ....

Now ... anyone knows how capsaicin is treated by the body? or if there is something I could eat(or drink) that de-hotify it or de-activates it? of course I don't need to say that I'm human and strong mineral acids do devstate me ... thanks very much for reading this ... and one last thing ... you can delete this Polverone if you want after I get some responses ....

12AX7 - 7-9-2006 at 07:54

Not that I know of. Best bet is probably to genetically modify yourself along the lines of capsaicin-resistant birds.

Capsaicin is indigestible, which is why it burns coming out the other end. I suppose if you ate a lot of it, it would be comparable to eating mineral oil or wax, both indigestible fatty chemicals. You'd be dead, or at least hospitalized from sheer pain, after consuming enough capsaicin to appreciably change the composition of your feces (for example, the amount of mineral oil you would consume for a laxative).

Tim

YT2095 - 7-9-2006 at 08:50

you`ll never escape the "Bum Burner" next day, no matter how much you adulterate the capsiacin and capsiacinoids, Some will be absorbed in lipids that enter the blood, but they non-the-less will be processed and excreted.
you will find over time the Calcium Ion pumps in the nerves will get saturated and it`ll no longer be too much of an issue, you need regular amounts of this in order maintain this status, unlike Virginity, it Does grow back over time

consider this, IF Capsiacin was incapable of being Digested, how come large amount can Kill You!?
it IS a Neuro-Toxin afterall

12AX7 - 7-9-2006 at 11:23

Quote:

Originally posted by YT2095
consider this, IF Capsiacin was incapable of being Digested, how come large amount can Kill You!?
it IS a Neuro-Toxin afterall

Ah true, I didn't know about neurotoxin.

But things *can* be absorbed without being digested (molecularly altered through the gut), so there

Tim

unionised - 7-9-2006 at 11:35

Any of it that gets absorbed is likely to be metabolised by hydrolysis of the amide group or oxidation of the methyl catechol. Some lipophilic materials are better absorbed in the presence of emulsified fats so creamed coffee might help by transfering the problem to your liver rather than err,... well you know where the problem is at the moment. I think the effect might not be very great.

Other materials responsible for the same "taste" like ginger or even ordinary pepper might hydrolyse more rapidly, or be otherwise degraded in the gut. Maybe you could try these and do the comparison.
What's the story with chili anyway? The poor plant spends millions of years eveolving to be practically inedible so even wild animals won't eat it; then some people put it in food.

EDIT
A bit of googling suggests that horsehadish might suit you well. Accoring to this, the pungency is lost in a matter of minutes.
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Armo_rus.html

[Edited on 7-9-2006 by unionised]

YT2095 - 8-9-2006 at 00:35

Alylisothiocyanate (the active part in horse radish) gives a different kind of "hit" again, more of a nasal top of your head blown off, it requires no tasting of it. in fact being of the brassica family the taste and smell to a lesser degree iss the same as that of a cabbage heart.
I grow this also, and make a "Hot sauce" with a 50/50 combo of this and ground chili (White habanero) and left to mature in vinigar/salt mix for at least a year. Wow that`s stuff`s good, but when you open the jar, it`s essential not to breathe any of the gas, you Will drop the jar!

raw radish like Wasabi doesn`t effect like chili on it`s way out though, so it depends on the type of hit you want?
Pepper will also burn on the way out.

denatured - 8-9-2006 at 00:38

"Not that I know of. Best bet is probably to genetically modify yourself along the lines of capsaicin-resistant birds."

yes , right..

"Capsaicin is indigestible, which is why it burns coming out the other end. I suppose if you ate a lot of it, it would be comparable to eating mineral oil or wax, both indigestible fatty chemicals. You'd be dead, or at least hospitalized from sheer pain, after consuming enough capsaicin to appreciably change the composition of your feces (for example, the amount of mineral oil you would consume for a laxative)."

I've been eating this stuff since I was 8 years old .. and here I'm .. posting on a forum 2006................

"you will find over time the Calcium Ion pumps in the nerves will get saturated and it`ll no longer be too much of an issue, you need regular amounts of this in order maintain this status"

What do you mean ? which issue ? getting rid of it or its effect becomes mild?

"What's the story with chili anyway? The poor plant spends millions of years eveolving to be practically inedible so even wild animals won't eat it; then some people put it in food."

Its story is simply that it gives the food the best taste ever, also it can help you cover badly cooked food by filling the food with a very hot sauce .. believe me .. whoever is gonna eat it .. won't think of how horribly you cook ...
Other thing that made me call it addiction is that I'm pretty sure that there is something goes in the brain after I eat it ... something pleasant ...

Sorry for the long reply

12AX7 - 8-9-2006 at 06:26

Quote:

Originally posted by alnokta
[quote fixed]

Quote:

I suppose if you ate a lot of it, it would be comparable to eating mineral oil or wax, both indigestible fatty chemicals. You'd be dead, or at least hospitalized from sheer pain, after consuming enough capsaicin to appreciably change the composition of your feces (for example, the amount of mineral oil you would consume for a laxative).

I've been eating this stuff since I was 8 years old .. and here I'm .. posting on a forum 2006................

Yes, but you haven't eaten say, ten grams of pure capsaicin at any time.

Quote:

you will find over time the Calcium Ion pumps in the nerves will get saturated and it`ll no longer be too much of an issue, you need regular amounts of this in order maintain this status

What do you mean ? which issue ? getting rid of it or its effect becomes mild?

Seems he means the rear end issue. Desensitization.

Tim

YT2095 - 8-9-2006 at 06:54

the rear end but mainly the Tongue also, in effect, the mechanism that allows that particular receptor for pain to react, it gets blocked, (Think Key and Lock scenario).
over time you will be able to tollerate greater amounts just to get the same effect, that`s NOT to say there still isn`t an LD50 for Capsiacin, there is, it just means you`ll be less likely to protest as you near this level

Alcohol is similar in this respect also, a resistance can be built up to it`s effects, non the less, it still remains Very toxic!

Elawr - 8-9-2006 at 17:11

Capsiacin binds to pain receptors and at first stimulates them, thus the fire you feel in your oral mucosa, (and later on rectally) when you ingest some high-proof pepper. Being lipophilic, it doesn't wash off easily, although whole milk, (not skim) helps some. Ironically, capsiacin is used topically for arthritis pain. Pain receptors become inhibited by prolonged transdermal exposure to the substance. Its available OTC as a lotion here.

orgANIC CHEMISTRY

ramarao - 9-9-2006 at 08:10

Quote:

Originally posted by alnokta
I'm addicted to pepper and chilis ... really .. I cannot eat anything unless it contains a considerable amount of capsaicin .... the problem is that I realized that it is seldom digested ! ... and that makes certain moments of my life bad ... very bad ....

Now ... anyone knows how capsaicin is treated by the body? or if there is something I could eat(or drink) that de-hotify it or de-activates it? of course I don't need to say that I'm human and strong mineral acids do devstate me ... thanks very much for reading this ... and one last thing ... you can delete this Polverone if you want after I get some responses ....

ramarao - 9-9-2006 at 08:15

yOU TRY DRINKING VERY THIN BUTTER MILK ATLEST 300 ML TO DE-HOTIFY OR TO DE-ACTIVATE ITS BURNING SENSATION EFFECT BOTH IN THE MOUTH AND STOMACH.

YT2095 - 10-9-2006 at 01:55

that`s why most hot curries etc... are served with Riata (a Mint in Yogurt based dip).
sweet things are suposed to help with the mouth side of things too, the indian drink Lassi is a sweet yogurt and fruit based drink and also very good for this, not too disimilar to a Milkshake.

chemoleo - 17-9-2006 at 19:03

Please have a look at this thread:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=5329
See my post on 14-2-2006 at 01:59

Your speculations on the function of 'capsaicin receptors' are simply wrong.
Darn. I am going to merge this. There's no reason this should be a seperate thread.

roamingnome - 3-10-2006 at 13:48

thanks for these interesting extractions

trying to work with dry habanerios

want to mill it to a fine powder and compress it into a
non-lethal .357 round, maybye some rock salt too

of course i dont know how to test how effective it will be...
maybe ill send it to the jackass crew... hehehe

The_Davster - 6-8-2007 at 22:59

I think this counts as some sort of 'synthesis' of capsaicin

JohnWW - 7-8-2007 at 01:19

I eat large quantities of chilis and products made from them, especially in winter, including the type shown above.

12AX7 - 7-8-2007 at 13:35

Some nice red ones there!

Nerro - 7-8-2007 at 14:10

Red Savina?

I've tried growing some plants as well but this summer sucked, it just wasn't hot enough. :S

The_Davster - 7-8-2007 at 16:58

Hotazel actually. A hybrid for oil extraction, or so says the site I bought the seeds from. Same hotness, thinner flesh supposedly.

My red savina plant is a slower grower, it just started flowering recently and I only have 5 or so peppers on it, all of which are green.

Last summer they failed because I planted the seeds in june or something, this year I planted in january, giving them a long enough growing season.

Ozone - 7-8-2007 at 18:09

hot az 'el. Yep.

Great looking plant!

Love from Cajunland,

O3

Nerro - 8-8-2007 at 02:22

Any tips for growing them? Do you grow them inside the hosue or outside? How hot are your summers?

The_Davster - 8-8-2007 at 16:06

I have a few, some are more what I did that seemed to work, and no control to compare them to.

-Planted in january-not sure if that is necessary in warmer climates, but with a 3-4 month growing season where I am, it was necessary
-Watering the seedlings with diluted 20-20-20 exclusivly makes them have very nice leaves
-Transplant seedlings before they get root bound, I had 2 other red savina seedlings which were transplanted at the same time as the others, and they were root bound at the time and died shortly after.
-After transplanting I watered using 20-20-20 diluted only on the weekends, otherwise they were not flowering
-dont plant in huge pots after transplanting(may be specific to here) so that they do become root bound, and they think they are going to die so they attempt to reproduce by flowering and making peppers, last year I used big pots, and I only ever got flowers, never any peppers, despite the plants being about 4x the size of the one in the picture.

They were kept in pots indoors, last year I don't think they liked the cold and aphids outside. This year they seem to love my hot south facing windowsill. My summer (outside) temperatures range from the high 'teens' to low twenties usually, but there are always a few weeks where the temp goes into the low thirties/high twenties. My windowsil is above 26 most of the time(max temp on one of those floating ball density thermometers).

I roughly followed what was on this site:
htt p://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/containers.asp

Lambda - 23-8-2007 at 12:46

Due to the interest that this thread has recieved in respect to viewings, I have managed to Secure a Good Book on the subject of Capsicum:

Posted by @Lambda on 23-8-2007 at 18:22 (Password Protected, please Login first !):
https://sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=7208&...

Enjoy !

Lambda.

kazaa81 - 25-8-2007 at 07:06

Quote:

Originally posted by The_Davster
I think this counts as some sort of 'synthesis' of capsaicin

I've got the same kind of chilies, but I wasn't aware
they were habanero.

NeroCupo - 27-1-2008 at 11:38

Quote:

Originally posted by Lambda
Due to the interest that this thread has recieved in respect to viewings, I have managed to Secure a Good Book on the subject of Capsicum:

Posted by @Lambda on 23-8-2007 at 18:22 (Password Protected, please Login first !):
https://sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=7208&...

Enjoy !

Lambda.

I'm very interested about capsaicin, but your link it's password-protected.
How can I read it?
NeroCupo

sparkgap - 28-1-2008 at 07:03

Without giving you the password, here is what Lambda was referring to:

http://rapidshare.com/files/41765965/De0415299918.rar

Enjoy.

sparky (~_~)

StevenRS - 1-2-2008 at 19:38

I have read that capsaicin is actually not very toxic, just painful

"If humans are about as sensitive as mice, the acute fatal toxicity dose for a 150 pound person would be about thirteen grams of pure, crystalline capsaicinoids, which frankly, sounds high to us. I think that less than that would be lethal."

Source: http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/capsaicin.asp

NeroCupo - 3-2-2008 at 03:37

Quote:

Originally posted by sparkgap
Without giving you the password, here is what Lambda was referring to:

http://rapidshare.com/files/41765965/De0415299918.rar

Enjoy.

sparky (~_~)

Thank you very much, it's very interesting

NeroCupo

loveoforganic - 9-1-2010 at 02:09

Tried an extraction with ~4 tablespoons cayenne pepper freshly ground in a coffee grinder, extracted with ~150 mL acetone. Bright red liquid was decanted and filtered, leaving a grey solid that had a slight red present as well. Evaporated as well as possible, leaving ~15 mL solution (acetone smell still present). Attempted to triturate with water. Two layers formed (all liquid). Aqueous layer was faintly red and was on bottom. On top of aqueous layer was a deep, deep red oil (color of oxidized blood). Water was pipetted off, then oil was decanted (~1 mL collected). Acetone smell no longer present (extracted into aqueous layer). Smells faintly of the red pepper. Viscosity similar to motor oil, possibly a little thicker. Prior to attempted trituration, a tiny amount (probably ~10 mg) of a white solid would settle on bottom of solution upon extensive sitting. Unsure yet if this will occur with decanted oil. No real burning smell from any of the solutions though. I suppose the vapor pressure of all the capsaicinoids is very low?

Anyone else have any luck?

UnintentionalChaos - 14-1-2010 at 23:43

The levels of capsaicinoids present in cayenne are very low. If you're attempting an extraction, it's far better to start with bhut jolokia, red savina habenaros, or other extremely hot pepper. The main problem here is that all peppers are going to yield a mixture of capsaicinoids that you won't be able to seperate without something as powerful as preparative HPLC. That is of course, after you strip out the carotenoids, plant waxes, and oils.

Alternatively, total synthesis is an option. Placement of the trans double bond with amateur friendly reagents is a problem that has consistently befuddled me. A number of reactions exist to generate trans double bonds, but they all involve air-sensitives, potent mutagens, or reagents that are just difficult to come by.

[Edited on 1-15-10 by UnintentionalChaos]

noted in passing...

argyrium - 23-3-2010 at 11:53

http://tinyurl.com/yf59tck

Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili

Mar 23, 6:19 AM (ET)

By WASBIR HUSSAIN
GAUHATI, India (AP) - The Indian military has a new weapon against terrorism: the world's hottest chili.
After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.
The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.
It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.
"The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization," Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman in the northeastern state of Assam, told The Associated Press.
"This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs," R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO said.
Srivastava, who led a defense research laboratory in Assam, said trials are also on to produce bhut jolokia-based aerosol sprays to be used by women against attackers and for the police to control and disperse mobs.

The_Davster - 23-3-2010 at 12:47

Non lethal capsaicin based tear gas grenades-been done for a while
Capsaicin based self-defense products for women and men -been done for a while...

Not sure why the writers found it newsworthy, other than the fact it uses the world's hottest chilies.

12AX7 - 24-3-2010 at 06:50

That is impressively spicy. Capsaicin is 16M scoville, so those are approximately 6% of pure pain!

Tim

pantone159 - 24-3-2010 at 17:52

I do like the concept of 'weapons grade peppers' though.

crazyboy - 24-3-2010 at 17:57

I believe I read that despite the excruciating pain capsaicin causes it is almost completely non-toxic, it directly targets pain receptors and doesn't cause cell damage.

12AX7 - 25-3-2010 at 06:41

Oh, it still causes cell damage, but the concentration required is significant.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/index.php?option=com_content&...

"In order to determine the lethal toxic level of capsaicinoids in animals, and to extrapolate that level for humans, researchers in 1980 performed a rather gruesome experiment with mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. Pure capsaicin was administered intraveinously, subcutaneously, in the stomach, and applied topically until the animals died. The lethal toxic doses of capsaicin, measured in milligrams per kilogram of animal weight ranged from a mere .56 milligrams when administered intraveinously to 190 milligrams when consumed to 512 milligrams when applied topically."

I just wouldn't be able to conduct that test...

Tim

Capsaicin Extraction and Purification

wackyvorlon - 13-4-2010 at 11:47

A friend and I have been discussing the extraction of capsaicin from peppers. I have read through the thread from 2006 on it's extraction, and think I have a protocol worked out. I'd like to run it by the forum and get any thoughts if I can.

Pulp peppers in blender
Add ethanol
Filter pulp and wash with ethanol
Evapourate ethanol

Now, there are a couple concerns with my protocol. One is potential for contamination from denaturing compounds added to the ethanol. Because of this, I've been debating other volatile organic solvents. In my mind at the moment, acetone is the front runner. I haven't a lot of luck finding solubility curves for capsaicin, even the CRC handbook only gives very brief notes.

After evapourating off the remaining organic solvent, I'm a little stuck for processing it further. I have found mention that capsaicin is nearly insoluble in cold water, how is it's solubility in hot water? Is recrystallization viable? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Lambda-Eyde - 13-4-2010 at 11:51

Can you distill the ethanol? Or alternatively use methanol, which should be free from denaturing agents (obviously

wackyvorlon - 13-4-2010 at 11:54

Methanol is certainly an option. I'll need to check and verify there's no denaturants added. A friend was considering isopropanol, but I'd like to aim for something like methanol or ethanol for easier evapouration.

Flamethrowa - 13-4-2010 at 20:16

Has anyone ever tried/considered an extraction using liquid butane?

bahamuth - 14-4-2010 at 06:28

Could i suggest a modified Bligh & Dyer?

Add 150 parts of 1:2 Chloroform:Methanol and 40 parts of water (minus the water content in the pulp, e.g. to 5 grams of pulp w/ 80% water, subtract 4 grams from the 40 parts of water) to homogenized matter in a sep. funnel, shake occasionally and set to extract for 24 hours in RT, add 50 parts of pure Chloroform, and 50 parts water and shake vigorously until you get a emulsion, let stand until you get three phases, lower phase (Chloroform) containing lipids and fat solubles, middle phase contains the extracted matter and finally the top phase containing Methanol and water solubles, like most pigments, chlorophyll and the like.

Ending ratio in the ternary solvent system should be 2:2:1.8 with Chloroform:Methanol:Water IIRC.

We use this to extract lipids from algae, muscle tissue and various organs.

Never tried it on Capsaicin, but tried the ethanol extraction, worked fairly well but not satisfactory.

loveoforganic - 5-6-2010 at 11:15

So, the vial from the cayenne/acetone extraction got left sitting around. At the bottom of the red oily liquid, small pieces of a white waxy solid formed. The liquid itself isn't unbearably hot (at least in touching a toothpick in quantities), but I'm too nervous to try a piece of the wax.

quicksilver - 5-6-2010 at 11:38

Just for the sake of discussion, when I had opportunities to buy chemicals at "Commodity" prices I found Capsaicin in both USP and technical grades. Both were seriously expensive even for the prices I was getting as a buyer.
The "pepper spays" sold & mfg in the USA (& I assume in the EU) were mandated to use the USP material @ close to a US Dollar per gram. Both materials were white crystalline granular and microscopically appeared similar. They had no obvious shape consistency. - However, there was shaving within the bottles and the material would easily grind down to single micron sizes that would become airborne VERY easily.
The ease that the material could be weaponized was very obvious.

I would not attempt to purchase some myself as the material appears not too difficult to extract. "Tech support" replied that ethyl acetate was used in the extraction @ 50C (?), but that diethyl ether could provide a technical grade.

[Edited on 5-6-2010 by quicksilver]

E-tech - 31-7-2010 at 17:00

I am curious- in the "similar" world of a bio-created, chemical irritant;
has anyone ever tried the extraction of the "hot" portion of mustard?

un0me2 - 12-9-2010 at 23:56

Just to be a "nervous nellie" but the "tests" which are required for such agents with people were not completed due to the incredible toxicity of the spray toward rats. Word to the wise, the safety of this "non-lethal" alternative is a long way from established.

densest - 15-9-2010 at 10:22

@E-tech - the "hot" in mustard is mostly allyl isothiocyanate CAS 57-06-7 which has been used as a war gas. In a lab long ago, someone left a few drops of it in a small flask which I attempted to wash out. Luckily, there was a strong draft to the vents so I only got a little bit... bad news.

The WiZard is In - 15-9-2010 at 10:58

Quote: Originally posted by densest

@E-tech - the "hot" in mustard is mostly allyl isothiocyanate CAS 57-06-7 which has been used as a war gas.

Hummm .... da mustard gas [dichloroethyl sulphide]
(actually a liquid) used in WW I was called mustard gas
because of it colour.

There is a really dangerous book you could consult , It
can be found where — if I were King it could not be had.

djh
---
Science of the ages, the highest arts of man,
Degraded and prostituted, that Might should take the van,
Whilst Empire, Justice, Freedom slumbered.
Then chemists, student, artisan answered Duty’s call;
Our arms, our arts, our poison fumes
Gained Liberty for all.

Authorship unknown.

Insert — Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est

Here X

The WiZard is In - 15-9-2010 at 14:00

Quote: Originally posted by The WiZard is In

Hummm .... da mustard gas [dichloroethyl sulphide]
(actually a liquid) used in WW I was called mustard gas
because of it colour.

-----
Forgot to add — During WW II the Nazi's killed 83 American
Sailors in Italy with mustard gas.

[Edited on 15-9-2010 by The WiZard is In]

Eclectic - 15-9-2010 at 15:39

My oleoresin capsasien from Liberty was said to be extracted with light fraction of coconut oil.

a little humor

The WiZard is In - 17-9-2010 at 06:55

Garfield-Chili-peppers-800.jpg - 662kB

12AX7 - 17-9-2010 at 07:10

Peruvian? That's a Simpsons reference...

arsphenamine - 17-9-2010 at 09:02

Within the wikipedia entry,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin

...They list 6 capsaicinoids, one of them a synthetic homolog.
The top two, capsaicin and the dihydro analog, always predominate and in that order.

A search on capsaicinoid distribution in chile peppers turns up a few articles that show
the distribution is highly variable, both within and amongst species, and is an
unreliable criterion for determining the plant source.

Whatever you do, the dihydro capsaicin is a significant part of the sauce/extract.

zed - 19-9-2010 at 15:05

A lethal dose of .56 Mg/Kg. via IV..... Impressive.

Might take even less by inhalation.

One thing I've noticed is, if you can't breath, you die.

As I recall, there have been some problems like that, here in the US.... Where police use, of pepper spray, is common.

On occasion, a suspect inhales a snoot-full of pepper-spray, and promptly dies.

Should I synthesize a kilo or so, and test it on my more expendable prisoners?

The WiZard is In - 19-9-2010 at 16:50

Quote: Originally posted by zed

One thing I've noticed is, if you can't breath, you die.

An American manufacture of tear gas grenades some years ago
stopped selling to our Mideast ally because they
were throwing them into occupied dwellings and then
blocking the doors and windows .....

The WiZard is In - 19-9-2010 at 17:00

Quote: Originally posted by quicksilver

Just for the sake of discussion, when I had opportunities to buy chemicals at "Commodity" prices I found Capsaicin in both USP and technical grades. Both were seriously expensive even for the prices I was getting as a buyer.

Spectrum chemical sells it —

Capsaicin, USP - 1 kg Bulk $24002.65

Byda there dobe nettle gas phosgene oxime CX.
Could (?) be produced for a lot less, however, synthesis is a
chemical engineering problem.

atomicfire - 9-10-2011 at 11:02

Has anyone tried an extraction recently? I think I am going to try using Habaneros and doing an extraction with both an alcohol (SDA 3A - denatured) and diethyl ether.

I just wanted to see if anyone has come across a more efficient method?

Capsaicin extraction

blanne - 19-10-2011 at 23:46

I found a few articles scattered, and came up with the following.

1. Grind dried chillies very finely (I used a multiblender then a coffee grinder)
2. Pop in a glass jar and cover the powder with a highly alcoholic beverage. Here in South Africa we brew our own out of fruit, called "Blitz"and it's anything between 80 & 90 % alcohol.
3. Shake well for a few days, this allows the capsaicin to become dissolved in solution
4. Filter through a fine sieve, then a coffee filter.
5. Evaporate off the alcohol - warm oven or whatever other methid you have
6. You're left with a sticky goo. I re-add a little of the blitz so that it becomes less viscous
7. store in the fridge in a small glass jar.

This stuff is extremely hot. Using only a toothpick I popped some onto my tongue and I was "man down" for quite some time, and salivating like a rabid dog for ages!

enjoy :-)

quicksilver - 20-10-2011 at 16:33

Quote: Originally posted by The WiZard is In

Quote: Originally posted by quicksilver

To the best of my understanding Capsaicin stimulates surface flushing of capillaries, the irritation may have more complex "interpretative responses" [that] the brain may respond to as unpleasant. yet we have all seen or known individuals who love spicy foods, etc.

When used as a defensive tool I've noticed two issues. Depending upon the carrier agent (propylene glycol or other surface skin entrant) there's the obvious burning of the eyes, uncontrollable tearing (& therefore diminish vision) alone with superficial burning of thicker tissue of the face resulting in some individuals panic response.
The other issue is the low level of toxicity as compared to lung irritants (CS/CN). I had no figures on any long tern health issues nor any potential, yet when an individual could fall or temporarily loose sight, the possibility for head injury via falling or being struck by traffic would always exist but [most likely] not be recorded as an injury resultant from the material per se'. However I question that Scoville (sp?) heat units method of measurements.

I have personally done a little experimenting w/ Capsaicin and it's just my opinion that the carrier agent is a greater determinant of it's "effectiveness". There is a material, used as a cosmetic for the skin that I found had a surprising level of "carrier strength".
There was a mid-size company in Wyoming that specializes in "less lethal" defensive items like this & some years back they DID have some published research. I believe the name was "Defense Technology Corp.". That was the only time I even thought of looking into a patent application as I had (what I had thought) was an original application & design. I still have some written things from them but a search only turned up the barest business material.
Spectrum used to have both the tech grade and what they called a USP grade.

[Edited on 21-10-2011 by quicksilver]

Funkerman23 - 2-5-2013 at 15:24

I have found a method that may help but as this is my first time directly citing please pardon if I make a mistake on the format.
From Modern Alkaloids, Fattoruso,2008
"In this lengthy procedure, barium chloride is used to remove fatty acids from
an acidified extract of the oleoresin, and silver nitrate to precipitate unsaturated
capsaicinoids from their saturated analogs. Further purification is achieved by a
series of partitions between alkaline water solutions and ether, followed by a final
crystallization from ether and washing with boiling petroleum ether (60–110 8C)."
page 86 I believe.

Now I myself have not had the chance to test this method but so far this seems to be the best way to go about separating Capsaicin from the Capsaiciniod extract liquor.

DraconicAcid - 2-5-2013 at 16:04

Quote: Originally posted by 12AX7

Peruvian? That's a Simpsons reference...

I think that was a Guatemalan insanity pepper.

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