Editing Scoville scale (section)

==={{vanchor|Capsaicinoids}}===
[[File:Capsaicin pharmacophore.svg|thumb|The capsaicin "[[pharmacophore]]", the portion of the molecule that produces biological effects]]

The class of compounds causing pungency in plants such as chili peppers is called [[capsaicinoids]], which display a [[linear correlation]] between concentration and Scoville scale, and may vary in content during [[ripening]].<ref>{{cite journal|pmc=4606152|year=2015|last1=Nagy|first1=Z|title=Determination of Polyphenols, Capsaicinoids, and Vitamin C in New Hybrids of Chili Peppers|journal=Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry|volume=2015|pages=1–10|last2=Daood|first2=H|last3=Ambrózy|first3=Z|last4=Helyes|first4=L|doi=10.1155/2015/102125|pmid=26495153|doi-access=free}}</ref> Capsaicin is the major capsaicinoid in chili peppers.<ref name=collins/>

The Scoville scale may be used to express the pungency of other, unrelated [[TRPV1]] agonists, sometimes with extrapolation for much hotter compounds. One such substance is [[resiniferatoxin]], an alkaloid present in the sap of some species of [[euphorbia]] plants (spurges). Since it is 1,000 times as hot as capsaicin, it would have a Scoville scale rating of 16 billion.<ref>{{cite book| last1= Atala| first1= Anthony| first2= Debra |last2= Slade | year= 2003| title= Bladder Disease| place= Washington, DC| publisher= National Bladder Foundation| page= 361| isbn= }}</ref> In the table below, non-capsaicinoid compounds are italicized.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Scoville heat units
! Chemical
! {{Abbr|Ref(s).|References}}
|-
| style="color:white; background:#000; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 16,000,000,000{{efn|name=est|Estimate; too strong to be used in human taste-testing.}}
| ''[[Resiniferatoxin]]''
|<ref name="QUE">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4WhpvPMZOJUC|title=Questions and Answers about Overactive Bladder|last1=Ellsworth|first1=Pamela|last2=Wein|first2=Alan J.|date=2009|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-1449631130|pages=97–100}}</ref>
|-
| style="color:white; background:#000; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 5,300,000,000{{efn|name =est}}
| ''[[Tinyatoxin]]''
|<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Premkumar|first=Louis S.|date=2014-06-13|title=Transient Receptor Potential Channels as Targets for Phytochemicals|journal=ACS Chemical Neuroscience|volume=5|issue=11|pages=1117–1130|doi=10.1021/cn500094a|issn=1948-7193|pmc=4240255|pmid=24926802}}</ref>
|-
| style="color:white; background:#300; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 16,000,000
| [[Capsaicin]]
|<ref name="Govindarajan Sathyanarayana 1991">{{cite journal|vauthors=Govindarajan, Sathyanarayana|date=1991|title=Capsicum — Production, Technology, Chemistry, and Quality. Part V. Impact on Physiology, Pharmacology, Nutrition, and Metabolism; Structure, Pungency, Pain, and Desensitization Sequences|journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition|volume=29|issue=6|pages=435–474|doi=10.1080/10408399109527536|pmid=2039598}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=O'Keefe|first1=James H.|last2=DiNicolantonio|first2=James J.|last3=McCarty|first3=Mark F.|date=2015-06-01|title=Capsaicin may have important potential for promoting vascular and metabolic health|journal=Open Heart|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|pages=e000262|doi=10.1136/openhrt-2015-000262|pmid=26113985|issn=2053-3624|pmc=4477151}}</ref>
|-
| style="color:white; background:#300; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 15,000,000
| [[Dihydrocapsaicin]]
|<ref name="Govindarajan Sathyanarayana 1991" />
|-
| style="color:white; background:#300; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 9,200,000
| [[Nonivamide]]
|<ref name="Govindarajan Sathyanarayana 1991" />
|-
| style="color:white; background:#300; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 9,100,000
| [[Nordihydrocapsaicin]]
|<ref name="Govindarajan Sathyanarayana 1991" /><ref name=":1" />
|-
| style="color:white; background:#300; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 8,600,000
| [[Homocapsaicin]], [[Homodihydrocapsaicin]]
|<ref name="Govindarajan Sathyanarayana 1991" />
|-
| style="color:white; background:#d00; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 160,000
| ''[[Shogaol]]''
|<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Compton|first1=Richard G.|last2=Batchelor-McAuley|first2=Christopher|last3=Ngamchuea|first3=Kamonwad|last4=Chaisiwamongkhol|first4=Korbua|date=2016-10-31|title=Electrochemical detection and quantification of gingerol species in ginger (Zingiber officinale) using multiwalled carbon nanotube modified electrodes|journal=Analyst|language=en|volume=141|issue=22|pages=6321–6328|doi=10.1039/C6AN02254E|pmid=27774555|issn=1364-5528|bibcode=2016Ana...141.6321C|s2cid=40241982 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b2a3c323-180f-45b7-a462-02f397ab718f}}</ref>
|-
| style="color:white; background:#ff1515; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 150,000
| ''[[Piperine]]''
|<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2UQ8BAAAQBAJ|title=Pharmacognosy: An Indian perspective|last=Mangathayaru|first=K.|date=2013|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9789332520264|pages=274|language=en}}</ref>
|-
| style="color:white; background:#ff1515; text-align:right; padding-right:8px;"| 60,000
| ''[[Gingerol]]''
|<ref name=":0" />
|}