Capsicum annuum is a species of the plant genus Capsicum (peppers) native to southern North America and northern South America.[rx][rx] This species is the most common and extensively cultivated of the five domesticated capsicums. The species encompasses a wide variety of shapes and sizes of peppers, both mild and hot, such as bell peppers, jalapeños, New Mexico chile, and cayenne peppers. Cultivars descended from the wild American bird pepper are still found in warmer regions of the Americas.[rx] In the past, some woody forms of this species have been called C. frutescens, but the features that were used to distinguish those forms appear in many populations of C. annuum and are not consistently recognizable features in C. frutescens species.[rx]
Materia Medica of Capsicum
- Mind – Irritable; holds everything in contempt. Full of desires, for what they know not.
- Head – Bones of the skull feel crushed or bruised. Pain extends to teeth and root of the tongue.
- Eyes – Inflamed, red. Pain through eyeballs. Profuse lachrymation. Cornea dim. Eyes tire from near vision. State of vision constantly changing. Spasm of accommodation from the irritable weakness of the ciliary muscle. Nausea from looking on moving objects.
- Face – Blue rings around eyes. Periodical orbital neuralgia, with lachrymation, photophobia, and smarting eyelids.
- Nose – Coryza, with stoppage of nose and nausea. Epistaxis.
- Stomach – Tongue usually clean. Mouth, moist; much saliva. Constant nausea and vomiting, with pale, twitching of face. Vomits food, bile, blood, mucus. Stomach feels relaxed as if hanging down. Hiccough.
- Abdomen – Amebic dysentery with tenesmus; while straining pain so great that it nauseates; little thirst. Cutting, clutching; worse, around the navel. Body rigid; stretched out stiff.
- Stools – Pitch-like green as grass, like frothy molasses, with griping at the navel. Dysenteric, slimy.
- Female – Uterine hæmorrhage, profuse, bright, gushing, with nausea. Vomiting during pregnancy. Pain from navel to the uterus. Menses too early and too profuse.
- Respiratory – Dyspnœa; constant constriction in chest. Asthma. Yearly attacks of difficult shortness of breathing. Continued sneezing; coryza; a wheezing cough. A cough incessant and violent, with every breath. Chest seems full of phlegm but does not yield to coughing. Bubbling rales. A suffocative cough; the child becomes stiff, and blue in the face. Whooping-cough, with a nosebleed, and from the mouth. Bleeding from lungs, with nausea; feeling of constriction; rattling cough. Croup. Hæmoptysis from slightest exertion (Millef). Hoarseness, especially at end of a cold. Complete aphonia.
- Fever – Intermittent fever, irregular cases, after Quinine. Slightest chill with much heat, nausea, vomiting, and dyspnœa. Relapses from improper diet.
- Sleep – With eyes half open. Shocks in all limbs on going to sleep (Ign).
- Extremities – Body stretched stiff, followed by spasmodic jerking of arms towards each other.
- Skin – Pale, lax. Blue around eyes. Military rash.
Uses/ Indications of Capsicum
- Pain from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis, psoriasis, shingles and nerve pain due to diabetes (diabetic neuropathy), when applied to the skin in the affected area – The active ingredient in topical preparations of capsicum, capsaicin, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for these uses.
- Back pain, when applied to the skin
- Reducing painful tender points in people with fibromyalgia, when applied to the skin.
- Relieving symptoms of prurigo nodularis, a skin disease, when applied to the skin – It may take 22 weeks to 33 months of treatment to see a benefit. Symptoms may return after stopping the use of capsicum.
- Cluster headache, when used in the nose – Capsicum seems to reduce the number and severity of cluster headaches. It’s best to apply capsicum to the nostril that is on the same side of the head as the headache.
- Relieving symptoms of perennial rhinitis, a runny nose not associated with allergies or infection, when used in the nose- Sometimes the benefit can last for 6-9 months.
- Stomach ulcers – There is evidence that suggests people who eat capsicum fruit (chili) an average of 24 times per month appear to be less likely to have an ulcer than people who eat chili an average of 8 times per month. This applies to chili in the form of chili powder, chili sauce, curry powder, and other chili-containing foods.
- Heartburn – Beginning research suggests that red pepper powder (containing capsicum) in capsules taken 3 times daily before meals reduces symptoms of heartburn. But in some people, symptoms get worse before they get better.
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – Early evidence suggests that capsicum fruit taken by mouth doesn’t help symptoms of IBS.
- Hay fever – There is conflicting evidence so far about the effectiveness of capsicum for reducing hay fever symptoms.
- Polyps in the nose – Putting capsicum in the nose seems to improve symptoms and airflow.
- Swallowing difficulties – Some people, especially elderly people or those who have suffered a stroke, are more likely than other people to develop “aspiration pneumonia.” This is a kind of pneumonia that develops after food or saliva is sucked into the airways because the person couldn’t swallow properly. There is some evidence that dissolving a capsaicin-containing lozenge in the mouth of elderly people with swallowing problems before each meal can improve their ability to swallow.
- Colic
- Cramps
- Toothache
- Blood clots
- Fever
- Nausea
- High cholesterol
- Heart disease
- Migraine headache
- Muscle spasms
- Laryngitis
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