The second thing that capsaicin seems to be useful for is its fungicidal and insecticidal properties. If you supply a growing chilli with the run off from a worm farm the chillis will grow hotter because they sense the dead and decaying shell matter and think they are being eaten so increase their defences.
That little trick was developed by the Aussie farmer that’s brought the world one of the hottest chilli peppers. It’s called the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T and it packs a roasting hot punch with 1,463,700 Scoville units. Just to give you a comparison, the humble jalapeno only stretches up to 8000 Scoville units at its spiciest. So you’re best off avoiding that. The hottest chilli in the world according to Guinness is the Carolina Reaper that managed to get an average reading of 1,569,300 Scovilles.
But why do humans like the burn? I mean not all humans like really spicy foods, sure, but most people enjoy at least a mild chilli kick. It turns out it releases endorphins into our brains and humans are complete suckers for endorphin releases. We literally can’t get enough of them. So if you’re particularly hot on spicy food, perhaps you’re more easily excited by endorphins and you should avoid the crack. Although I guess laying off the crack is a pretty good tip whatever your food preferences are…
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