The Complicated Evolutionary History of Spicy Chili Peppers
— For over 6,000 years, humans have used chili peppers to add a spicy kick to their meals [1]. Not only does chili spice add heat and flavor, it keeps food from spoiling. We’ve all seen mold growing in wet, humid places like bathrooms, and in hot and humid tropical regions this is especially a problem. Native peoples in the Americas have been breeding chilies for their flavor and spice long before the invention of refrigerators [1]. We have now cultivated five very different species of chilies, and even pinpointed the substance responsible for spice, a long compound called capsaicin (cap-SAY-sin). Humans eat capsaicin in abundance, and even synthesize it for topical creams to relieve the symptoms of psoriasis and arthritis. Capsaicin is very useful to people, but it begs the question: why did chilies start making it in the first place, or, from an evolutionary perspective, what advantage does spice offer the chilies that created it? Continue reading The Complicated Evolutionary History of Spicy Chili Peppers