Capsicum

Medicinal Herb : Capsicum
Plant Description

Cayenne is a bush like dark-green annual plant, obtaining a height between 10 to 20 inches. The stems are furrowed, branching, and angular.

The simple leaves are on medium to long petioles and are usually wrinkled, entire, and ovate to oval. The pendulous flowers are white to violet, solitary, arising from the axillary nodes.

The fruits are long, cylindrical, and mostly ovoid, and when ripe are either scarlet or yellow, with a smooth shiny surface. The many seeds are yellow, smooth and round, with a spiny protuberance on the edge.

The plants grow at altitudes from sea level to 1,800 m above MSL in the tropics. Their pungency is influenced by several factors, such as high night temperatures and drought or over-watering.

Parts Used

The parts used are berry fruits. Removal of seeds and veins results in a less pungent and more brightly coloured product.
Main Constituents

The pungent constituents found in Cayenne are the capsaicinoids, present only in the fruit of the plant in small amounts, as low as 0.001 to 0.005% in "mild" and 0.1% in "hot" cultivars. Capsaicin is a phenolic compound, the vanillyl amide of isodecenoic acid

Apart from capsaicin, the taste of paprika is mostly due to essential oil; paprika scent is mostly do to a range of alkylmethoxypyrazines. Paprika also contains sizable amounts (0.1%) of vitamin C. Paprikas derive their colour in the ripe state mainly from carotenoid pigments, which range from bright red (capsanthrine, capsorubin and more) to yellow.

Capsicum or Cayenne (Capsicum Frutescens) is rich in vitamins A, C, iron and calcium. It contains vitamin G, magnesium, phosphorus, and sulphur; it also has some B-complex, and is rich in potassium.

Aroma and flavour

The pungency for the red peppers and the colour value for the paprikas are the most important parameters. The hot flavour of chilies is caused by the substance capsicin which is concentrated mainly in the placenta (i.e. the connective tissue between the fruit and the seeds) and the seeds.

Hot peppers, used as relishes, pickled or ground into a fine powder for use as spices, derive their pungency from the compound capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-enamide), a substance characterized by acrid and burning taste, that is located in the internal partitions of the fruit. The capsaicin stimulates gastric secretions and, if used in excess, causes inflammation. It is a tasteless, odorless white crystalline substance. Its level varies widely in capsicum peppers, from less than 0.05% in the mildly pungent types to as high as 1.3% in the hottest chilies. Most of the capsaicin in a pepper is found in the interior ribs that divide the chambers of the fruit, and to which the seeds are attached.
Medicinal Herbs

Chilies have a chemical effect on our bodies as they stimulate the appetite and cool the body. The chili flavour revolutionized the cooking of tropical countries. Red pepper is used in a large variety of products, often in the meat and pickling industry in the form of crushed red pepper or ground red pepper. It is used either in the ground form or as oleoresin in any product that has some heat or pungency. A fine powder made from especially mild varieties of pepper, C.annum, is known as paprika. Paprika is used more extensively whenever a red to orange colour is desired such as in processed meats, snack, foods, sauces, gravies, salad dressings etc.
Medicinal Uses

* Cayenne is stomachic, carminative, stimulant, antispasmodic, analgesic, alterative, astringent, hemostatic, and antiseptic in nature.
* Cayenne is widely considered to be the most potent and safest stimulant known.
* Cayenne has a strong effect upon the circulation, initially acting upon the heart and the large arteries, followed by a stimulant activity upon the arterioles and then the capillaries.
* It exhibits a protective effect on the respiratory system.
* The capsaicin has substantial antigenotoxic and anticarcinogenic effects, and is an important dietary phytochemical with potential chemopreventive activity (Surh et al 1998).
* The powder is used in any catarrhal affliction as in colds, cough, asthma and urinary catarrh.
* Capsaicin is used primarily as a topical cream for pain caused by conditions such as arthritis and general muscle soreness.
* In cases of dyspepsia, flatulence and constipation, Cayenne promotes the digestive secretions and stimulates peristalsis.
* Cayenne is also indicated in tired, painful muscles, joint stiffness, and coldness in the extremities.
* Cayenne is applied topically as a powder on wounds to arrest bleeding, working rapidly to form a clot and seal off the wound.
* Cayenne is of great use in the treatment of indolent ulcers, abscesses, and sores.
* Cayenne is also an important among remedy to stop the process of mortification and gangrene, arresting decomposition and decay through its antiseptic properties.
* It is also helpful in menstrual cramps.