Bird pepper

Synonym African Pepper, Bird Pepper, Guinea Pepper and Chillies. 

Bird pepper A pepper (Capsicum baccatum) having very small oblong, red fruits, which are among the most pungent of all red peppers. 

Capsaicin is what makes chili peppers hot. It is an irritant, for mammals, but not for birds. This may be because birds spread the seeds better than mammals. It causes a burning sensation in any mammalian tissue with which it comes in contact. 

In addition to mating-disruption pheromones, there are a number of naturally occurring, nonpheromonal attractants and repellents. Many are typically used as food additives or in cosmetics or perfumes, and are derived from diverse plant and animal sources. Capsaicin [44], the spicy component of chili peppers, is used in several bird, deer, and rodent repellents. Maple lactone [45], a common food additive and flavoring, is used in traps to attract cockroaches with its stale beer odor. Methyl... 

USEPA (2001) Selected Mammal and Bird Repellents 9,10-Anthraquinone (122701), 1-Butanethiol (1-Butylmercaptan) (125001), Fish Oil (122401), Meat Meal (100628), Methyl Anthranilate (128725), Red Pepper (Chile Pepper) (070703) Fact Sheet http //www.epa.gov/oppbppdl/ biopesticides/ingredients / factsheets / factsheeLmam -bird-repel.htm (last accessed 30 April 2010). 

If we can t repel bears with capsaicin, then we can use it to send squirrels scurrying. They hate hot peppers, but, to the great annoyance of bird fanciers, they love bird seed. Birds have no receptors for capsaicin and are therefore immune to its effects, so why not treat bird seed with capsaicin to keep the rodents away Such products are actually being developed under the Squirrel Free brand, and they are pretty hot. You need a hit of about twenty thousand Scoville units to get squirrels to hightail it, and this requires about thirty dried habaneros per pound of bird seed. 

The immunity of birds to the pungency of capsaicinoids underlies the development of pepper-laced bird seeds that are avoided by squirrels and other competing foraging animals. Since CPS has an interesting adivity against Salmonella sp. [82], the insensitivity of birds to the pungency of peppers has also served as the basis to develop capsicum-based produds as an alternative to antibiotics to prevent salmonella infedion in poultry. CPS is apparently not absorbed, since the flesh of the animals remain nonpungent. 

It irritates skin and mucous membranes. In terms of chemoreception, it irritates the trigeminal nerve. Capsaicin binds to the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VRl). Birds lack this receptor. Since they cannot sense capsaicin, they eat and distribute seeds of red hot peppers. Medically capsaicin is used as painkiller (analgesic). 

It has been proposed that capsaicin serves chili peppers by selectively deterring predators. Birds, productive vectors for seed dispersion, do not respond to capsaicin. In contrast, mammals are predatory but are deterred by the capsaicin (with the exception of humans) [26], The molecular basis of the differential capsaicin sensitivity between birds and mammals can be traced to VR1 [27]. The avian homolog of VR1, like its mammalian counterpart, is responsive to heat but unlike its mammalian counterpart, avian VR1 does not respond to capsaicin. 

Perhaps more remarkable than the ability to use the differences between chick (insensitive) and rat (sensitive) to construct a mutant insensitive rat VR1, was the use of the rat receptor to guide the construction of a capsaicin-sensitive chick receptor. Building the binding pocket required more than a point mutation the active construct borrowed 45 amino acids from the rVRl inserted into the correct position in the cVRl. Essentially, the molecular basis of this selective deterrence causing birds, but not mammals, to consume chili peppers is explained by a biochemical change in ligand specificity, induced by a few amino acids in mammal versus avian VR1. 

Plastic application materials such as cables are destroyed by animals and especially by rodents. Therefore, additives may be incorporated to eliminate potential damage to these materials. Additives of choice to repel rodents are substances with a bitter taste, for example, denatonium benzoate, with a spicy taste (capsaicin, hot pepper), and/or with an unpleasant odor for animals (Fig. 11.25). Other substances repel birds, for example, natural oils or methyl salicylate [69]. 

Carotenoids Carotenoids are a class of natural fat-soluble pigments found principally in plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria. They are responsible for many of the red, orange, and yellow hues of plant leaves, fruits, and flowers, as well as the colors of some birds, insects, fish, and crustaceans. Some familiar examples of carotenoid coloration are the oranges of carrots and citrus fruits, the reds of peppers and tomatoes, and the pinks of flamingoes and salmon." From the... 

One of the best things about New Mexico is the food. Authentic New Mexican cuisine uses liberal amounts of green and red chilies— often called chili peppers. Chilies apparently originated in parts of South America and were spread north by birds. When Columbus came to North America, which he originally thought was India, he observed the natives using chilies for spicing foods. When he took chilies back to Europe, Columbus mistakenly called them peppers and the name stuck. 

Capsaicin has found many uses outside of cooking. It is used in pepper sprays and repellant sprays for many garden pests, although birds are unaffected by capsaicin. Capsaicin also stimulates the body s circulation and causes pain receptors to release endorphins, similar to the effect produced by intense exercise. Instead of jogging you may want to sit on the couch eating chilies. Either way you are going to sweat. 

Morton (123) has shown that the pepper tree, Schinus terebinthifolius, was a cause of breathing difficulties, especially when it was in bloom. She ascribes these properties to air-volatile agents, possibly the monoterpenes. The fruits, which were poisonous to birds, contained the triterpenes, terebinthone, and schinol. 

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