Fusarium Killing Capsaicinoids
What in the world does that mean, right? Well, it means that a University of Washington team of biologists who study peppers has shown that the spiciness in peppers (from capsaicinoid chemicals) gives peppers the ability to fight off fusarium, which is a nasty and quite prevalent plant fungus.
Apparently, these chemicals also help ward off food poisoning, which is interesting given this summer’s Salmonella outbreak that the CDC tied to jalapeno peppers. I’m not entirely clear how food poisoning and salmonella are differentiated, but still…
So, why is the study important? Well, it helps us understand how plants fight off invading fungi. It makes me wonder if planting peppers near other fusarium-suceptible plants whill help those plants. (Tomatoes, for instance). Or, maybe it will give us more ways to protect our plants using natural, organic compounds rather than chemical plant products.
