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posted by martyb on Saturday July 21 2018, @08:10PM   Printer-friendly
from the story-accepted-while-editor-eats-chili-with-rice-and-extra-chili-powder dept.

Tree Shrews Love Hot Peppers Because They Don't Feel the Burn

One of the only traits left to distinguish us from other mammals is a tolerance—and in many cases deep, passionate love—for spicy foods. Richie Hertzberg at National Geographic reports that even that is under assault. A new study reveals that a species of Chinese tree shrew also seeks out hot peppers, and it's probably got a higher tolerance than you.

According to a press release, chili peppers do not grow naturally in the range of Chinese tree shrews, Tupaia belangeri chinensis, but they do feed heavily on Piper boehmeriaefolium, another species of plant that produces copious amounts of capsaicinoids, the compounds that give peppers their kick. Cara Giaimo at Atlas Obscura reports that researchers at the Kunming Institute of Zoology stumbled upon the shrew's tolerance while trying to figure out what the animals like to eat. The shrews, not true shrews at all but relatives of primates, are more genetically similar to humans than other lab animals like mice. So the institute houses about 2,000 of the 10-inch-long mammals for research. As they presented foods to the shrews, they were stunned to find the animals preferred hot peppers, something a self-respecting rabbit or macaque would never eat. (Some other animals, like birds, don't have capsaicinoid receptors, so they can munch peppers all they want.)

To understand the phenomenon, Chinese researchers collected five wild tree shrews and six wild mice to serve as controls. They fed the animals corn pellets spiked with capsaicin. Predictably, the shrews loved the spicy noms while the mice turned away. The researchers also collected bunches of Piper boehmeriaefolium from a local botanical garden. After synthesizing the capsaicin produced by the plant, they injected it into the animals. They then watched how often the animals licked the site, since licking is a response to pain, finding that mice licked the spot more often, a sign that they were irritated by the capsaicin. The shrews hardly licked the spots at all. After that they euthanized the animals to analyze their brains.

Unlike human pepper-heads, who enjoy the tingling on their lips, the slowly building heat and a rush of endorphins that comes from eating hot food, the shrews simply don't feel the burn much, if at all. That's because, the study in the journal PLoS Biology [open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2004921] [DX] reveals, they have a mutation of the TRPV1 ion channel, also known as the capsaicin receptor. In other mammals, including the control mice, the receptor activates in the presence of capsaicin, causing pain and burning sensations.

Treeshrew.


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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @08:48PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @08:48PM (#710558)

    Chinese love eating animals and they love eating peppers. Anyone want to bet these guys are researching a way to prepare pre-spiced tree shrews for szechuan restaurants?

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @09:04PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @09:04PM (#710569)

    "Love" seems like a pretty strong word. Do they prefer spicy foods to alternatives or do they simply not mind eating them?

    This is why there's a resurgence in anti-vaxxers, alternative medicin and climate change deniers. Science "reporting" manages to get even the most basic facts wrong, contradicting itself in the article. If I want bullshit I can turn on dinner time infotainment TV, now go fuck yourself with a ghost pepper, "journalist".

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @09:09PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @09:09PM (#710574)

      It's National Geographic... they've gone downhill ever since they ran out of pygmy tribes to discover.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @09:11PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @09:11PM (#710576)

        The preferred term is "diminished stature njiggers"

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @03:11AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @03:11AM (#710652)

    Is this article suggest that tree shrews are genetically communist?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @03:23AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @03:23AM (#710655)

    Predictably, the shrews loved the spicy noms while the mice turned away.

    So, anyone want to tell the freaking Smithsonian this term was cringe-worthy about three days after it was invented, and now completely unwanted in anything more serious than random a text-message?

    (And while I'm complaining, anything more than a couple shakes of pepper is just ruining otherwise good food IMO. It's a chemically-induced pain response, not a flavor)

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @10:13AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @10:13AM (#710702)

      So triggered.

  • (Score: 2) by KritonK on Sunday July 22 2018, @10:09AM (3 children)

    by KritonK (465) on Sunday July 22 2018, @10:09AM (#710700)

    One of the things I like to eat is tuna with mayonnaise and various seasonings, including copious amounts of Tabasco sauce and red pepper. Even thinking about opening a can of tuna fish, will drive my cat crazy, so he must get his share before I start preparing the rest for myself. Even then, he'll keep begging for more. Hoping to drive him away, I once offered him some of the hot stuff. Instead of running away, as soon as he smelled it, he gulped it down and wanted more, so we ended up sharing the rest. He either liked capsaicin or didn't feel the burning sensation, tasting only the tuna.

    • (Score: 2) by rufty on Sunday July 22 2018, @01:07PM (1 child)

      by rufty (381) on Sunday July 22 2018, @01:07PM (#710740)

      Is your cat called "Garfield"?

      • (Score: 2) by KritonK on Sunday July 22 2018, @01:55PM

        by KritonK (465) on Sunday July 22 2018, @01:55PM (#710746)

        I wouldn't know; I don't think I've ever made lasagna, since I got him.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @02:08PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 22 2018, @02:08PM (#710753)

      Is your cat named "Ace"?

      Ref: TMI Comic

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