Pungency
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Pungency (also called piquancy) is a sharp and biting sensory impression. Food that causes this sensation is often called "spicy". Regarding chili peppers, it refers to a scientific equivalent of the Scoville scale of measuring spicyness.
[edit] Mechanism
The pungent feeling caused by allyl isothiocyanate, capsaicin, piperine, and allicin is caused by activation of the heat thermo- and chemosensitive TRP ion channels including TRPV1 and TRPA1 nociceptors.
