Now for the rest of us that don't usually read things in the form of chemical structures what does this mean?
Capsaicin (cap-SAY-isin) is the stuff that makes peppers hot, is related
to a family of chemicals which include vanillin, common in vanilla extract.
In fact, some have related the structure of capsaicin as looking like, one
end is a vanilla molecule and the other end is like a big piece of diesel
fuel. Though the description is a little anecdotal the thought is amusing
enough. So can you get your paws on straight capsaicin? In short no. Not unless
you are a chemist that is familiar with building complex substances. Even
if you could it would not be the wisest thing to experiment. In the 1980's
there was animal experimentation done to determine if there is such a thing
as a lethal dose of capsaicin. These horrible experiments consisted of injecting
animals with varying amounts of capsaicin. Basically they did determine that
there is such a thing as a lethal dose of capsaicin.
