Pungency This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pungency".
Pungency (also called piquancy) is a sharp and biting sensory impression. Regarding chili peppers, it refers to a scientific equivalent of the Scoville scale of measuring spicyness.
The pungent feeling caused by allyl isothiocyanate, capsaicin, piperine, and allicin is caused by activation of the heat thermo- and chemosensitive TRP ion channales including TRPV1 and TRPA1 nociceptors.
