Thresh (1876-1877) succeeded in isolating a well defined, highly active principle, the Capsaicin, from the extract which he obtained by exhausting Cayenne pepper with petroleum. From the red liquor dilute caustic lye removes capsaicin, which is to be precipitated in minute crystals by passing carbonic acid through the alkaline solution. They may be purified by recrystallizing them from either alcohol, ether, benzine, glacial acetic acid, or hot bisulphide of carbon; in petroleum capsaicin is but very sparingly soluble, yet dissolves abundantly on addition of fatty oil. The latter being present in the pericarp is the cause why capsaicin can be extracted by the above process.
The crystals of capsaicin are colourless and answer to the formula C₉H₁₄O₂; they melt at 59° C. and begin to volatilize at 115° C., but decomposition can only be avoided by great care. The vapours of capsaicin are of the most dreadful acridity, and even the ordinary manipulation of that substance requires much precaution. Capsaicin is not a glucoside; it is a powerful rubefacient, and taken internally produces very violent burning in the stomach.
Commerce—Chillies or Pod Pepper are shipped from Zanzibar, Western Africa and Natal, but no general statistics of the quantity imported into Great Britain are accessible.
The exports from Sierra Leone in 1871 reached 7258 lb.[1666] The colony of Natal, which produces Cayenne Pepper in the county of Victoria, where sugar cane and coffee are also grown, shipped in the same year 9072 lb.[1667]
Official returns[1668] show that in 1871 Singapore imported 1071 cwt. (119,952 lb.) of chillies, chiefly from Penang and Pegu. The spice is largely consumed by the Chinese.
Bombay imported of dried chillies in the year 1872-3, 5567 cwt. (623,504 lb.) principally from the Madras Presidency, and exported 3323 cwt.[1669]
Uses—Capsicum on account of its pungent properties is often administered as a local stimulant in the form of gargle, and occasionally as a liniment; and internally to promote digestion. In all warm countries it is much employed as a condiment.
RADIX BELLADONNÆ.
Belladonna Root; F. Racine de Belladone; G. Belladonnawurzel.
Botanical Origin—Atropa Belladonna L., a tall, glabrous or slightly downy herb, with a perennial stock, native of central and Southern Europe, where it grows in the clearings of woods. The plant extends eastward to the Crimea, Caucasia and Northern Asia Minor. In Britain it is chiefly found in the southern counties, but even of these it is a doubtful native.