The BBC has reported that the “hot” substance found in chili peppers is assisting scientists to develop a new type of painkiller, which could relieve from pain at its source.

It posted that a chemical similar to capsaicin, the active ingredient in chilies, is found to be accumulated in the body at sites of pain.

Researchers hope that prohibiting the action of the substance, the pain could be relieved.

The research that has been conducted in mice and rats has grabbed a lot interest in those working in the field of pain relief.

The researchers breed mice without receptors for the chili-like substance (because they had no gene to make them) and discovered the mice to show no sensitivity to pain from capsaicin.

This research is spearheaded by Dr. Amol M Patwardhan along with colleagues from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Texas, USA.

The study unveiled in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Investigation, witnessed huge backing by grants and a Clinical and Translational Science Award.