WHY DOES IT HURT TO EAT CHILI PEPPERS?
WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE YOUR MOUTH IS BURNING WHEN YOU EAT CHILI PEPPERS?
Chili peppers contain the compound CAPSAICINE, which binds to a receptor named TRPV1 in nerve cells. This receptor is not only activated by capsaicine, but also by heat (temperatures about 43 degrees C). Our sensory system is thus tricked to think that we eat or drink something very hot, which is painful.
This discovery is central to this years’ Nobel prize in physiology/medicine (awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian), which acknowledges the discoveries of the receptors for the somatosensory systems. These systems translates real, physical signals like temperature, pressure or chemical substances into meaningful signals in the brain.
Idea, animation and music by Ann-Louise Bergström / www.movingscience.dk