The World's Spiciest Substance, Resiniferratoxin : What's It Used For

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The World's Spiciest Substance, Resiniferratoxin : What's It Used For

 

Hello, I'm chemist Hongje Jang.

 

"Spicy"is called "nociception", not "taste".

So what is the spiciest substance in the world ?

Could we also say it's the most painful substance ?

 

Today, we're going to talk about the substance that have extreme pungency.

And Where it might be used in chemistry.

 

A convenient way to compare spiciness is the invented by Wilbur Scoville, an American pharmacist.

Scoville's sensory test

 

It's a very intuitive analytical technique that relies on the senses.

You crush the substance that you want to check for pungency.

 

Extract Capsaisin which is contained in alcohol Even if you eat spicy food and drink water

As it the spicy flavor still remains

Because capsaicin is a hypdrophobic molecule that doesn't dissolve well in water.

 

You have to extract it with a solvent that's a little bit more hydrophobic.

It is obstained intact

Then diluted in sugar water in various proportions

The pungent odor which is a sign of spiciness

Hot, heat sensation on the tongue

The lowest conentration is called

You can find it by testing it yourself.

 

If it's still spicy at 100x times dilution.

This is called the 100 Scoville heat unit (SHU).

 

But as you might expect

Depending ont the person and their sensitivity

We all have different thershold for spiciness.

 

There could be dangerous situations (during testing).

 

So recently, we've developed a simple analyzer has been developed to measure the Scoville index

The synonym for spicy in the food we eat is Chill Pepper

And the Guinness Book of world records

The spiciest pepper is

The hottest pepper is called the Carolina reaper.

It's an ugly looking pepper.

 

It's rated at a whopping 2.2 million SHUs.

Even when diluted 2.2 million times which means it's spicy

Add a drop (approximately 0.05 mL) of the extracted to the

Add 60 110L of sugar water until mixed

The spiciness is just right

 

If you are curious about flavor the spiciest snack in the world.

One Chip is a challenge

You can feel it

From natural peppers to the spicier peppers created through crossbreeding.

 

There are different levels of spiciness in the world

We don't want to talk about hot peppers right now.

We're just talking about the level of spiciness that you experience

The most pungent substance is

We imagine how spicy it would be

 

Synonymous with spicy food as we know it

The Scoville index of [buldak fried noodles] is said to be around 4000

In terms of chilli peppers, it's about the same as a jalapeno.

 

It's obviously very spicy.

 

If you look at the spiciness scale.

 

It feels like a weirdly insignificant level

Another pride of spiciness, the Cheongyang chili pepper

They say it's about 10,000 Scoville index on average

 

It's gotten a lot spicier.

 

On the cili rating scale

It's just outside the safe green range.

 

They say the Carilinican Reaper is the hottest pepper.

This is baesed on what is recognized as 'ofiical'.

 

Even spicier than that

There as also peppers that hold unoffical records

 

A pepper called the "dragon's breath" is said to be the hottest pepper in the world

It's a whopping 2.5 million SHUs

It's doesn't have an offical name yet.

 

The pepper called Pepper X

That's a whopping 3.18 million SHUs.

 

We've seen many different peppers but they all have one thing is common

is that they have a spicy flavor

And that spiciness is

comes from a chemical called capsaicin.

And of course, it comes from chili pepper extract

Undiluted capsaicin will be spicier

 

Caroline Reaper, the strongest in the plant kingdom.

If it was 2.2 million SHUs.

 

Capsaicin, the middle's boss of the chemical world, is a whopping 7.3 times higher

16 million SHUs.

 

By the time you're done eating

It's a level that can cause shock death

And the pungent chemical boss of the bunch.

 

1000 times stronger than capsaicin

Having 16 billion SHUs

Resiniferatoxin

 

Resiniferatoxin, from the name.

It has the word "toxin" in it, which gives it an eerie quality.

Tetrodotoxin, a pufferfish poison.

Arrowhead frog posion [ Batrachotoxin], etc.

The word "toxin" means "toxin"

 

Resiniferatoxin is also a poison

In a plant called Euphorbia resinifera which is why it has this name.

Euphorbial is an umbrella word for plants in the lighthouse grass family

 

I think we're gonna have a whole bunch of other euphorbias.

Is it safe ?

 

The scientific name of the plant is Euphobia

An ancient kingdom located in Algeria

The king of Numidia and Mauretania

A Greek physician son-in-law of Juba 2.

Said to have originated from Euphorbos.

 

By the way, Juba 2 is claimed to be a descendant of the Carthaginian general Hannibal.

His father died in 46 BC.

was defeated by Julius Caesar at Thapsus in North Africa.

40 B.C. Numidia becomes a vassal state of Rome

Euphorbos then the son-in-law of Juba 2.

on a variety of topics, including natural history.

He was also an accomplished writer.

At this time, Euphorbos was a cactus-like plant

is a very useful laxative (anti-diarrheal) and he writes it down

Discover that this plant is the beginning of the genus Euphorbia

King Juba's Euphorbia (Euphorbia regis-jubae)

The genus Euphorbia consists of hundreds of plant species

 

What they all have in common

is that they ooze a white sap when wounded.

The same is true for Euphorbia recinnifera.

 

We also have a plant in our own backyard called lighthouse grass.

Maybe somewhere along the way

I'm sure you've seen it before

This plant also has a white sap that comes out when you cut it.

And when that sap is applied to the skin

You may feel an uncomfortable tickling sensation.

Different types of plants have different levels of toxicity.

In common, this white sape is called

It is highly irritating to the skin and

and can cause swelling and inflammation.

 

Euphorbia recinnifera is it is a succulent plant native a Morocco.

In Korea, it is known as the white giraffle.

It is the spiciest subtance in the world

Although it is a dangerous plant because of its poisonous sap.

I can't rest assured that we'll never meet

Why ?

It's a type of succulent.

because it's easy to get.

 

If you search for it right now

You can buy a white giraffe for three or four thousand won.

 

If you cut it, white sap comes out.

I diluted it in water and pout it on my head and it was quite irritating.

Don't ver try to replicate this at home

You should definitely handle it with gloves

If you eat it, it's more than just skin contact

it can cause more serious problems.

 

You should never, ever, ever put it in your mouth

 

The toxicity of the white goby is documented at

A first-century Roman taxidermist

The writings of Gaius Plinius Secundus.

It can be found in the Naturalis Historia.

 

According to Natural Hostory, Book 25, Chapter 38

In order to collect sap, the plant has to be strong

must stand a considerable distance apart and

No matter how little you taste

leaving a burning sensation in the mouth

It say continues to get worse

If you look at the structure of resinifercatoxin.

and the different venoms that we've seen before

we can see that they have a similar structure

We've seen in "The Story of the Wordt Tree Manchineal"

Phorbols and daphnetoxins.

They have almost the same ring structure

which suggests that it will be highly toxic.

But as far as the chemical synthesis of resiniferatoxin.

research is still ongoing

Obviously not for eating

I think it's because there;s another use for it somewhere.

You don't suspect that ?

 

You said it was spicy so i'm guessing it's the one we saw earlier.

Let's compare the structure again with capsaicin.

Capsaicin, the spicy component of hot peppers.

It's an idiomatic name

If we were to elaborate on the formal name of a chemical

8-Methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide

An elonged structure colored in red

It is made up of nine carbons (Nona-) and has a

An oxygen double bond (C = O) and a nitrogen bond at position 1.

Amide structure

It has a double bond (N;-ENE) at position 6.

6-Nonenamide

This is the basic skeleton

We have a vanillin structure attached to the nitrogen (N-vanillyl)

We have one methl (-CH3) functional group boned to carbon 8.

You can see it in the yellow color

 

The name of resiniferatoxin is complicated to describe in detail.

Let's move on

 

But the cyan colored structure both capsaicin and resiniferatoxin have in common

is a form a molecule called vanillin.

 

You might be wondering if vanillin is also spicy.

Vanillin is like the world vanilla, it's a flavor that you think of.

It's a sweet vanilla flavor

A substance containing the vanillin structure is called a vanilloid.

 

Capsaicin and resiniferratoxin are both types of vanilloids.

Something seems to be going on with the vanillin structure.

 

How we perceive spicy flavors

The way that we feel hot, burning pain

Transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily 1

TRPV 1

When a substance binds here and stimulates

You'll feel a hot sensation and a pungent pain

Both capsaicin and resiniferatoxin.

Bind to the same spot

Open TRPV 1, allowing calcium (Ca) ions to enter.

Causes pain

Capsazepine which is a very similar structure.

It binds to TRPV 1 in a similar way but

It's a antagonist that doesn't cause pain

that can be used to study TRPV 1.

So what can we use resiniferatoxin for ?

So, you're saying that the white giant giraffe chicken fired noodles

Is it a prophecy of a spicier future ?

No, it doesn't.

Resiniferatoxin is an unprecedented new analgesic.

It is attracting attention for its potential

Resiniferatoxin has been used in a number of conditions, including arthritis and cancer To control chronic pain.

It can act very selectively and

It's a unique neurointervention molecule that can be applied to peripheral nerves.

Resiniferatoxin can be used to treat pain that is tactille, presure, acute tingling or sensation such as vibration or muscle coordination.

Interact directly with nerve cells

When administered to peripheral nerve endings

To eliminated pain associated with knee osteroarthristics

Produces a temporary analegesic effect

And also in tumor tissue

We can permanently block pain signals.

Could potentially help patients with terminal cancer pain

Based on these characteristics'

Like the structure we saw earlier

We're going to synthesize a new material consisting of a lipid chain, a liner and a vanilloid.

Research is also being done to develop painkillers

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Due to the loss of ability to detect pain, heat, etc.

Not having to fear secondary damage

To allow experimentation with resiniferatoxin on terminally ill patients.

FDA guidance to allow bone cancer patients with

Experimenting with pain relief

Common opioid analgesics have broad systemic effects

It's kind of like an explosive.

And while it can be useful

It doesn't have the ability to block certain pain for example.

However, Resiniferatoxin can be used as a sniper-like weapon

peripheral nerve pain or other specific pain.

because it can be also permanently eliminate

With the possibility of a whole new class of analgesics

It's been getting a lot of attention lately