Very good advice Blue.

The problem is that we do - and after 4-6 hours of chilli processing pips, we find that the juice has penetrated the skin of the gloves and whammo!

This time I will be putting on two pairs....

I have been thinking of those silver fire suits they use when they impress us on TV with the wearer's skill in getting real close to fires - like what Jaime or Adam wear in Mythbusters! But somehow those gloves look to far out!!

I have been thinking of those silver fire suits they use when they impress us on TV with the wearer's skill in getting real close to fires - like what Jaime or Adam wear in Mythbusters! But somehow those gloves look to far out!!

Anyone who has ever dealt with chili's knows exactly what you mean. Those suckahs just ruin my hands. And, yes, I agree with you, Sky, after several hours the capsasin does, indeed, penetrate armour.

That stuff is wicked, wicked, wicked.

I actually get blisters on my hands from it.

Natural function

Capsaicin is present in large quantities in the placental tissue (which holds the seeds), the internal membranes and, to a lesser extent, the other fleshy parts of the fruits of plants in the genus Capsicum. The seeds themselves do not produce any capsaicin, although the highest concentration of capsaicin can be found in the white pith of the inner wall, where the seeds are attached.[21]

The seeds of Capsicum plants are predominantly dispersed by birds. The TRPV1 channel to which capsaicin binds does not respond to capsaicin and related chemicals in birds (avian vs mammalian TRPV1 show functional diversity and selective sensitivity). Chili pepper seeds consumed by birds pass through the digestive tract and can germinate later, but mammals have molar teeth, which destroy seeds and prevent them from germinating. Thus, natural selection may have led to increasing capsaicin production because it makes the plant less likely to be eaten by animals that do not help it reproduce.[22] There is also evidence that capsaicin evolved as an anti-fungal agent.[23]

In 2006, it was discovered that the venom of a certain tarantula species activates the same pathway of pain as is activated by capsaicin, the first demonstrated case of such a shared pathway in both plant and animal anti-mammal defense.[24]