I was just wondering if anyone here has ever extracted Capsaicin from chilli peppers, and if so, how did you do it and how pure were you able to get it?

Why would we want to isolate a substance that causes nothing but pain? Moving to Lab Tips.

Why? Because once obtained, you can dilute it to your liking and make some crazy salsa :P

The "jolly roger cookbook" has the info your looking for. Its all over the net.

I once filled a super soaker up with 40% crazy salsa and sprayed it at some big mudda fuckas, one nearly died.

Capsaicin is an oil. Have you ever seen that oil chile sause they have in the Asian restaurants.

Oh well, if you take some crushed red chilies and let them soak in an alcohol for a few days, most of the capsaicin would go into the alcohol. The solution could then be filtered and the alcohol boiled off. The result would be very concentrated.

No, DO NOT boil that in your house. I can promise you that when you get the alcohol boiled down, you will have to evacuate the premises when the capsaicin becomes airborne. I tried an extraction using about 20 habenero peppers and 190 proof Everclear. When it boiled down, I began sneezing and burning from the vapor. It was just as though I sprayed pepper spray in my apartment! I had to open all of the windows and turn fans on to be able to stand it, and turned the stove off of course.

Instead of boiling it off, I would take the alcohol/extract and mix it with your favorite oil (I used Olive oil) and shake it often to pull the capsaicin to the oil. You won't get it all, but there will definitely be some heat in there. Or, you could just leave the alcohol to evaporate by itself over several weeks.

antibody



[This message has been edited by antibody (edited 07-25-2003).]

quote:Originally posted by DrY.R.Head:

Capsaicin is an oil. Have you ever seen that oil chile sause they have in the Asian restaurants.

Oh well, if you take some crushed red chilies and let them soak in an alcohol for a few days, most of the capsaicin would go into the alcohol. The solution could then be filtered and the alcohol boiled off. The result would be very concentrated.



Pure capsaicin can blister the skin very badly . capsaicin is so strong it can be felt even in small concentrations.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/capsaicin.asp

quote:Pure capsaicin is so powerful that chemists who handle the crystalline powder must work in a filtered "tox room" in full body protection. The suit has a closed hood to prevent inhaling the powder. Said pharmaceutical chemist Lloyd Matheson of the University of Iowa, who once inhaled some capsaicin accidentally: "It’s not toxic, but you wish you were dead if you inhale it." "One milligram of pure capsaicin placed on your hand would feel like a red-hot poker and would surely blister the skin," said capsaicin expert Marlin Bensinger.