If you’ve seen the Vsauce video “How Hot Can It Get” he refers to the Planck Temperature which is a theoretical limit of heat where the energy is so concentrated that it can’t get any hotter, or we don’t know what happen. Maybe a black hole. All that’s to say what’s the Planck Temperature of spiciness? Pure Capsaicin is 16 million SHU but researchers have found a cactus that when synthesized is 16 billion SHU. I know it is far from edible and most likely lethal at that strength, but how spicy can it get?

  • Yes, there is. That one drop of hot sauce from SpongeBob that, through the power of naughtiness, was very, very hot is actually the theoretical limit to how spicy something can be.

    In all seriousness, I don't know enough to say, but I don't really think so. The popular scales we have for measuring spiciness aren't even really that scientific, so it's tough to say, but you could in theory always make something spicier, even if the human tongue can no longer distinguish any difference because it's already so hot.

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  • Not sure. SHU is the concentration of capsaicinoids in the solution right? So there is no way to exceed the SHU of pure undiluted capsaicin. I think the simplest explanation here is that the report you're referring to is either mistaken or being misinterpreted.

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    Apparently, ,the cactus has a molecule that 500-1000 spicier than capsaicin which can cause burns in truly tiny quantities.

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    I would imagine though that when consuming a sufficiently high dose of even regular capsaicin, you'd hit a point where your pain receptors physically cannot fire any more strongly than they already are.

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    I think it’s also highly toxic

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    The chemical is indeed classified as a toxin. It sounds gnarly.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiniferatoxin

    At 16 billion Scoville units, resiniferatoxin is toxic and can inflict chemical burns in minute quantities. The primary action of resiniferatoxin is to activate sensory neurons responsible for the perception of pain. It is currently the most potent TRPV1 agonist known,[13] with a binding affinity for TRPV1 about 500 times higher than pure capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers such as those produced by Capsicum annuum. It is 1000-10,000 times more potent than capsaicin for effects on thermoregulation and neurogenic inflammation.[14] For rats, LD50 through oral ingestion is 148.1 mg/kg.[15] It causes severe burning pain in sub-microgram (less than 1/1,000,000th of a gram) quantities when ingested orally.

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  • Capsaicin is not the only molecule that can stimulate TRPV1 receptors. Just as you can get better analgesia than 100% pure morphine by using other opiates than morphine (for example Dilaudid or Fentanyl), you can have more powerful spiciness than pure capsaicin

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  • The Scoville Heat Unit is, unfortunately, a pretty subjective scale. Theoretical limit would be pure capsaicin, as that's the spice it was meant to measure.

    There are things "spicier" than capsaicin, but measuring them on the Scoville scale isn't appropriate.

    It's kind of questionable if it's ever appropriate for anything to be measured on the Scoville scale, as it's not a particularly scientific or repeatable test.

    The fact that Satan's Blood is rated at only 800k scoville completely ruins the scale's credibility, IMO.

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  • Well it's probably the spice level such that every single one of your taste buds is firing off, so it'll vary person to person

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  • At a certain point, you can't feel anymore spice.

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  • Are we talking like food or like OnlyFans?

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  • 16 million scovilles is pure capsicum.

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