Cayenne Question

Hi Tonisha, you asked:

Quoted message said:

Heard Cayenne was good for the heart. I bought 100 capsules
They contain each 40,000 STU (whatever that means).

STU refers to "Scoville Thermal Units". I believe an STU is
a measure of the relative pungent taste (heat) of various
peppers. This is not a medical or a pharmaceutical scale
that corresponds to a certain dosage. Although the
advertisements selling these types of pepper products for
health promotion make it seem so.

The Scoville Thermal Unit is derived from an "organoleptic"
analysis and not a chemical analysis. Organoleptic technique
relies on the subjective determination by human sensation
such as taste, smell and touch (texture).

The STU measurement is a recent and helpful method created
to help those who grow, market, prepare and serve peppers
and pepper products for the table. According to this method
peppers with high STUs are hotter than those with lower
STUs. For example a Jalapeno Pepper might have a rating of
10,000 STUs which is hot, but not as hot as a Habanero
Pepper with an STU value of 100,000 (the hottest of all
peppers). A Bell Pepper at zero STUs is not hot at all.

The chemical that imparts the pungent heat to peppers is
capsaicin. I believe there have been studies that show the
usefulness of capsaicin as a local anaesthetic when applied
regularly as a liniment. It could very well have other
attributes such as for the health of the heart but I am
unaware of this.

One thing for sure, capsaicin or not, peppers are a
remarkably healthy food. They have more Vitamin C than
citrus fruits. Peppers are high in carotinoids and minerals.
Bioflavonoids as nutrients were first discovered in peppers.
Originally bioflavonoids were called "Vitamin P" because
they were found in "Paprika", a type of pepper.

You also wondered:

Quoted message said:

And, it says also 1,365 mg. This is Capsicum anuum. I guess
now that 3 capsules contains those amount. It says on the
bottle: take 2 or 3 capsules, 3 times daily.

There might be a way to convert STU to mg of capsaicin or
whatever substance(s) is supposed to be heart healthy. If
this is possible then it would be a way to know with greater
certainty how much of the product to take.

_Capsicum anuum_ is the name of the exact species of pepper
plant in the product you purchased. And this particular
species, according to your source, was rated at 40,000 STUs.
But this is a problem. Because the amount is a general
designation of STUs for the species there is no way to know
for sure if the value can be applied to the specific batch
that was used to formulate the capsules you have.

Plants of the same species can vary widely in the amounts
and types of components they possess. The environment
that a plant grows in can drastically change the
chemistry, appearance and suitability of a plant for a
specific purpose.

So too, genetics can and do play a role in altering plant
characteristics within the same species. In the field,
unplanned cross-pollination can produce hybrids in a
species which impart significant variations in plant
characteristics such as levels of capsaicin (and in this
case the number of STUs).

Actually, because the STU is a general designation for a
species of pepper and not a specific amount of a substance
found in the product that is used, a specific STU rating
could have large variations in medicinal content rather than
a change in the designated STU.

It is unfortunate that I can't answer your question with
certainty:

Quoted message said:

Is there dosage amount, about right? I was thinking of just
taking one of these pills a day?

I don't know. If you post the location and identity of
the scientific studies regarding this use of hot
peppers for heart health I will look at them and
perhaps give an opinion.

I doubt that using your pepper capsules would cause you any
harm. There might be a cheaper alternative to get the health
results you desire.

Here is a post that I wrote for another news group that
discusses capsaicin as a chemical and its use as a safe
chemical weapon:

groups.google.comgroupsOpen ↗
=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3D= UTF-8&selm=3D27506-3F70143E-520%40storefull-
2317.public.lawson.webtv.net&r= num=3D1

Sub C=F8dex

Read your lengthy reply, SubCodex. Thanks.

Now I take 3 of those Cayenne softgels a day. Only once
did I notice
a...er...carminative effect of something coming out of
my...er rear end as
b..."did my business". I think that we all, at times in our
diet, have noticed hot peppers that were "hot going in,
and hot coming out". This Summer, I may plant a pepper
plant and swallow 3 or 4 of the small peppers a day.

Hi TonishaWallace said:

I may plant a pepper plant and swallow 3 or 4 of the small
peppers a day.

An uncooked unchewed small pepper fruit would most
likely pass through your system undigested if swallowed
like a pill.

Cooking the fruit with steam for 17 minutes or more might
help digestion.

A possible procedure would be to pick your fruit (a cup or
so), wash, place in a boiling pot on a steamer rack, steam
20 minutes, let cool, place in a single layer inside freezer
zip-lock bags, stack the bags in a freezer, layer upon
layer. Even if the cooking causes the fruits to be soft, the
freezing would make them solid for swallowing.

If you are set on this method I would suggest trying the
fruit of the Piquin Pepper. They are small, globular in
shape, very potent and grow as a perennial.

Sub C=F8dex