Are hot peppers medically dangerous?

[Mercedes Benzene]

According to the MSDS for capsaicin, it is indeed a toxic substance in high enough concentrations. "Target Organ Effect, Toxic by ingestion, Toxic by skin absorption, Skin and respiratory sensitizer, Irritant"

Mind you, this is for the pure substance.
The Oral LD50 (rat) is 148.1 mg/kg.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Mercedes Benzene

According to the MSDS for capsaicin, it is indeed a toxic substance in high enough concentrations. "Target Organ Effect, Toxic by ingestion, Toxic by skin absorption, Skin and respiratory sensitizer, Irritant"

Mind you, this is for the pure substance.
The Oral LD50 (rat) is 148.1 mg/kg.

So, 0.01% of your body weight in kg is pushing it, eh?
I weigh about 82kg, so I guess I should not consume more than 8.2g of pure capsaicin. As much as I like peppers, I think I'm safe.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Originally Posted by freeztar

So, 0.01% of your body weight in kg is pushing it, eh?
I weigh about 82kg, so I guess I should not consume more than 8.2g of pure capsaicin. As much as I like peppers, I think I'm safe.

Yeah, definitely! I tried to find data on how much capsaicin is present in your average Habanero. No such luck. I want to see how many of those suckers you'd have to eat to have a 50% chance of dying.