Capsaicin
18” x 24”
Acrylic on canvas
2010
$600
Capsaicin is the most common and most powerful capsaicinoid, a class of chemicals found in chili peppers. Capsaicinoids cause the painful, exhilarating sensation that accompanies peppers, and chili peppers have variously been bred to elevate their levels of capsaicin, or to eliminate it altogether. Its long alkyl tail makes it highly fat-soluble, and is the reason that capsaicin is not easily expunged with water or watery drinks. Milk, yogurt, or other substances that contain emulsifiers (raw eggs? mustard?) are more effective at rinsing away capsaicin.
Because capsaicin works on the heat-sensing nerves, the pain from chili peppers is described as “hot” or “burning,” to such a degree that the “heat” of a dish is used as a metonym for its spiciness. Because it acts so strongly on these nerves, temporarily overwhelming them at high levels and depleting vital neurotransmitters, capsaicin can be used therapeutically to block pain signals from certain parts of the body, making it an effective treatment for the severe, localized pain of diseases like arthritis and shingles.
Capsaicin also has the intriguing property of causing potentially agonizing pain without apparently causing any tissue damage whatsoever. Consequently, it is used in riot control (so-called “pepper spray), as a mammal repellent, and as a staple element of practical jokes.
These molecules are rendered as space-filling models, in a natural, low-energy conformation, and displayed from an angle that shows off as much of their structure as possible. The atoms are color-coded, with carbon being black, hydrogen white, oxygen red, and nitrogen blue. They are painted in artist-quality acrylics, on gessoed canvas
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