THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE

NOVEMBER 1997 ISSUE

THE POISON SLEUTHS

POISONING BY CAPSAICIN

-Dr. Anil Aggrawal

"Good morning doctor. Oh, my God, what are you doing today. You seem to be doing the post-mortem on a very young infant. What happened to her? Please tell me."

"Good morning Tarun. The name of this young 5 month old girl is Neeta. She was born to Pyarelal and his first wife Seema. Just after her birth, Seema expired because of some complication. Pyarelal soon remarried another woman Anita, apparently because he wanted someone to look after his young daughter. But from her behavior it did not appear that Anita had any great liking for Neeta. She would often keep her hungry and would torture her in several other ways. There were rumors that Anita even wanted to do away with Neeta for good. In fact she wanted that her own children - as and when they were born- get due importance in the family....."

"So you think that Anita has killed this young child?"

"No, I didn't say that. But certainly all facts have to be kept in mind while investigating suspicious deaths."

"What do the parents of the girl say?"

"The father Pyarelal was in the office when the girl died. The girl's stepmother Anita says that she had given milk to the child at 10 am in the morning, soon after Pyarelal left home for office. After that Anita put her to sleep and got busy in her household chores. At 2 pm when she wanted to give her the second feed, she found that the child was lying listless in the cot. She panicked and immediately phoned Pyarelal. He came home at once. A doctor was called, but when he found that the child was dead, he suspected some foul play, and informed the police. The police conducted some preliminary investigations, and then handed over the body to me, to find the cause of death."

"So what have you found out?"

"Tarun, you won't believe it but I have found a very strange cause of death in this case. She was poisoned by a very exotic poison.."

"What is that poison doctor? Please tell me, I am getting curious."

"Tarun, the poison in this case is a chemical known as Capsaicin. It might sound a very alien name to you, but it is found in a very common household item- chilies. In other words, Neeta was done to death with chilies!"

"What? I don't believe that. How can anyone kill with chilies?"

"Tarun, Chilies contain an exceedingly acrid, volatile poisonous substance Capsaicin. It is because of this substance that capsicum has a pungent smell and taste. In India, capsicum fruits are powdered and universally employed as a condiment known as red pepper or lal mirch. You may be surprised but chilies are used in India for a lot of criminal activities. They are used by the police for the purpose of torture for instance...."

"Really? Well, I am beginning to believe that Capsaicin indeed is an interesting poison. Why don't we begin from the beginning doctor?"

"Oh sure Tarun. There are so many interesting tales to tell about capsicum and its active principle capsaicin. While capsaicin in small quantities may tickle our palates, in large quantities, it may act as a poison. The fatal dose of capsaicin has been estimated to be about 150 mg/kg in mice and rats. Taking the same figure to be true for a human being, it would take almost 9 g of capsaicin to kill an adult human being weighing 60 Kg. This is rather a large amount as far as homicidal poisons go, but small children can be killed with far lesser doses. Experimental rats and mice die within 4 to 26 min after the fatal dose, so it appears to be rather a quick poison..."

"Doctor, how does a person die of capsaicin?"

"Tarun, as I told earlier death by chilies is unusual except in very small children. Death by capsaicin is due to fall in blood pressure and stoppage of respiration. At autopsy, the stomach lining is found to intense red due to irritation and there may be erosions and even ulcers."

"Doctor, you said there are so many interesting tales about chilies and capsaicin. Please let me know some of them."

"Sure. Tarun, chili plant belongs to the family Solanaceae. History of this plant is most interesting. Archaeological findings show that capsicum was eaten in Mexico already in prehistorical ages back to 7000 B.C. It was one of the first plants domesticated in the Americas. Beautiful pictures of Capsicum fruits are seen on pottery of the Nazca Culture in the Southern part of Peru; the fruits are linked to the forelegs of the "Mottled Cat" which was a fructiferous symbol. It is said that when Columbus arrived in 1492 in San Salvador, Cuba and Haiti, it was not only the first step into the New World, but also the entrance right into the center of the "Capsicum Countries". In his first letter to the Spanish Catholic Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella, he already mentioned the habit of the people to eat meat with very hot spices. On his second voyage he was accompanied by the physician Dr. Diego Alvarez Chanca from Sevilla. He gave the first detailed report about the hot spice called Agi, which was nothing but modern day chili. Fernandez de Ovieto described the plant in detail and mentioned already its common use by the Spaniards. Cortez regarded in a letter in 1526 Agi as one of the most valuable products of Mexico, saying clearly that he enjoyed the hot taste of this spice. Quite soon an exchange of seeds and plants between the Old and the New World took place: oranges, lemons, melons and grapes were brought to the West, capsicum, tobacco and maize to the East. It is remarkable that the ancient name Agi or Aji remain in use until present days in the territory formerly governed by the Inca. Tschudi, a Swiss traveller, who gave a detailed description of life in Peru around 1840, mentioned the meal "Piccante" being served for lunch every day. It contained so much Agi that after a few spoons the mouth started to burn like glowing coal. He mentioned that one soon got adapted and acquired a preference for the condiment; even the ingestion of large amounts of these hot fruits was devoid of any adverse effects on the gastro-intestinal tract. I may tell you here that an acetic acid extract of only two capsicum fruits, when applied to the skin, produces severe pain and reddening, followed by the formation of a blister."

"Oh, so chilies were very common in South America, even in prehistoric ages. Were they used for killing in those times too?"

"If they were, no records exist of such killings. Capsicum however captured the imagination of people as a condiment. Within a few decades after Columbus, Capsicum had been distributed world-wide. Its distribution in Europe started with the cultivation and use as a spice in the Iberian peninsula. It is however unknown whether Capsicum came from there to other parts of Europe. It seems more likely that Portuguese trade connections to Ormuz in Persia in 1513 and Diu in India in 1538 opened the way for Capsicum to Ottoman Turks. Capsicum probably reached Central Europe concomitantly with their invasion of the Balkan peninsula and of Hungary which was occupied by them for about 150 years. The collection of Herbal woodcuts, published by Leonhard Fuchs in 1545 in Basle, contained already three plates of Capsicum under the name of Indian and Calicut pepper. Capsicum was cultivated in monastery gardens of that time, as documented e.g. in Brünn (Brno) in Moravia in 1566. It seems that Capsicum was highly welcomed as spice in Europe to substitute for black pepper. From Greek and Roman times on, aromatic spices and frankincense came from the Orient to Europe via secret trade connections. These links between the Lands of Spices and Europe were for centuries the monopoly of Arabs and Venetian merchants, resulting in an exorbitant price for pepper. So costly was pepper that only very rich traders could expect to trade in it. It may interest you to know that in Germany even today, rich traders are called "Pfeffersäcke" which means pepper sacks! Black pepper, the spice most sought after, was so costly in old days that it was counted out peppercorn by peppercorn!"

"Doctor, earlier you mentioned about the name Aji for chilies. I usually eat pepperoni pizza which contains lot of chilies. Now after talking to you, I realize the word "pepperoni" contains the word "pepper" too."

"Yes, that's a good observation. Chili is known by a number of names around the world. In the West Indies and South America the ancient name "Aji" is still in use. In Mexico the Nahuatl word "Chili" was used when the Spaniards arrived; the name remained in use not only in Mexico but also in Northern America as chili or chili. The name of the long black pepper of India, Piper longum, was soon also used for Capsicum and remained in use as "pepper" in most English-speaking countries. Pepperoni is actually the name of a fairly hot variety of capsicum which is eaten in Italy. In Europe, Capsicum found its main domicile in Hungary. The Hungarian name paprika stems from the Slavic name peperke used in Balkan countries for pepper. Another version, although not based on linguistic sources, seems to be more charming: The Hungarian diminutive form for Ilona is Ilonka, and Mary is Marika. On the same lines it has been suggested that paprika was the definition for a small pepper!"

"Doctor, how many varieties of capsicum exist in the world?"

"Tarun, there are about 1600 to 1700 varieties of Capsicum in the world, but only around 200 of them are commercially available. The Mombasa variety, the black chili from Africa, is too hot to be eaten; it would blister the mouth! Other varieties are as mild as green peas and do not contain capsaicin."

"That's interesting. Doctor, tell me why do people eat peppers, chili or paprika at all? Doesn't it appear more or less like a paradox to you? Chilies are so hot; by no stretch of imagination can they be called pleasant, yet people seem to enjoy the hot taste of chills. Why?"

"Tarun, you must remember that highly spiced meals, flavored with chili, chili-containing curry, black or green pepper or ginger are preferentially consumed in countries with hot climates such as India. The common experience during such a fairly hot meal is sweating beginning in the face. This occurs only in hot climates or in a warm restaurant, but not in a cold environment. It is called gustatory sweating because it differs from sweating following physical exercise, protecting against hot environment or expressing emotional stress. The effect of gustatory sweating is explained by the action of capsaicin on thermoregulation. It stimulates heat sensitive fibers in the periphery and the temperature regulation center. This results in sweating, which is basically a heat loss reaction. This effect is observed not only in man but also in rats. This also counteracts the heat production by a heavy meal and facilitates food intake in hot climates. All these facts explain the enormous fascination of people with chilies. So high is the consumption of chilies in the world, especially in hot climates that the world-wide production of Capsicum is estimated to be in the range of 6 million metric tons each year. There is even an International Chili Society which arranges Local and World Championship Chili Cookoffs, thus connecting peppers with entertainment! Capsicum plays a very interesting cosmetic role in chickens too which has nothing to do with the action of pungent capsaicin..."

"What is that?"

"Tarun, when chickens have access to green food in springtime their feet become bright yellow and the yolk of their eggs almost orange red. This is based on the rising intake of carotenoils. Thus bright yellow color of chicken's feet and orange red color of egg yolks is indicative of the fact that chickens have had a lot of green food. In fact this is often touted as a "healthy color" to the customers. Quite strangely poultry owners can produce a similar color in their chickens without giving them green food."

"How?"

"Tarun, besides capsaicin, chilies also contain Capsanthin which is the red pigment of ripe paprika pods and accounts for about one third of their colorants. The red color of chilies is because of this pigment. When this red pigment is included in the food of chickens, a similar change in color in chicken's legs and in their egg yolks appears because Capsanthin accumulates there. The interpretation that the "healthy color" of legs or egg yolk is linked to life of chickens in open air is therefore suggested to the customer!"

"That is certainly highly interesting doctor. You said earlier, that chilies are used for a lot of criminal activities in India. Can you tell me about some?"

"Oh, sure. To begin with, I must tell you that homicide by pepper although a rarity, is a distinct possibility. The first report of a case of homicide by pepper in world's literature was published in 1964. Homicidal asphyxia by pepper has also been reported. In such cases, the pepper is forcibly introduced in the nostrils and mouth of very young children who get asphyxiated. Another reported criminal use of pepper is by robbers. They often throw chili dust in the eyes of their victims to "blind" them temporarily to facilitate robbery. This act can in fact be done by anyone to temporarily inactivate his enemy or opponent. Chili powder is often used by police in our country- and in fact in several third-world countries- to extract confession from criminals. It may be introduced in the mouth, nose, anus, urethra or vagina to torture a suspect and extract confession from him. It is said that during emergency in India in 1976, chilies were used as a means of torture by introducing them in rectum! This process was known as Hyderabadi Goli. In India, superstitious people use chili fumes to "scare away" ghosts and spirits. These fumes are very irritating to the eyes and the nasal passages and can cause severe inflammation. Such practices can cause severe breathing problems in children, if they are around. Finally, in our country, chili powder is often introduced in the vagina as a punishment for infidelity."

"Doctor, what symptoms does the victim experience when chili powder is given to him?"

"Tarun, capsaicin is mainly an irritant poison. Applied to skin, it causes irritation and vesication. When ingested in sufficient quantities, it acts as an irritant poison, with the usual symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea and a burning sensation in the mouth, throat and stomach. Burning sensation also occurs during defecation. When thrown in the eyes, it can cause severe burning pain, watering of the eyes, intense spasm of the eyelids and photophobia, which is another term for sensitiveness to intense light. It is for this reason, that robbers and thugs use chili powder on their victims to rob them. Capsaicin is volatile and because of this, fumes arising from burning capsicum are highly irritant. Major toxic symptoms in experimental rats and mice are salivation, erythema of skin, staggering gait, slowing of respiration often leading to difficult and labored breathing, blueness of skin, tremor, convulsions."

"Doctor, I feel now I know fair enough about capsaicin. I am now ready to see the autopsy of this young child. What important findings are present in this child?"

"Tarun, when this child was brought to my dissection table, I noticed some pepper, or lal mirch as you would call it, sticking to her clothes. This immediately alerted me of some foul play, especially as I knew that pepper can be used to liquidate unwanted children. I asked about the relationship of the mother with the child in detail and the history made me still more suspicious. Then I looked at her mouth, and I was stunned to see lot of red pepper in her mouth. On opening her food pipe and stomach, I found still larger quantities of red pepper there too, which almost solved my case. Not only that, there were large quantities of red pepper in her windpipe and bronchi too. I can now imagine what must have happened. When Pyarelal left for office, Anita waited for some time. Then she brought a fistful of red pepper from her kitchen and forcibly introduced it in the child's mouth. The poor child could not resist. Whatever resistance she did make only helped to introduce chilies in her nose too. Needless to say, with so much of pepper in her stomach and windpipe, the child soon died. Anita then smoothed out everything, removed the traces of chili powder from her face and from the cot, and phoned her husband at 2 pm. She hoped that she could pass the death off as a natural death. She however forgot to clean Neeta's clothes completely, and I could find traces of chili powder in her clothes which immediately alerted me. Well, even if she had assiduously cleaned her clothes, I would still have found out the cause of death by looking at her stomach and windpipe. Come, let us tell the police that Neeta did not die a natural death; Anita is her killer."

"Oh, how very clever of you doctor. This was a most interesting discussion. I never could imagine that chilies could be put to such a draconian use. Tell me what are you going to tell me the next time?"

"Tarun, next time, I would tell you about a very deadly poisonous gas- Lysol "