Sneeze It!

To contact us Click HERE
It is a popular belief that pepper causes sneezing. But however widespread this notion is, there are—in fact—only a few studies corroborating this fact.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, reports that some sources state that the chemical piperine (C17H19NO3), the alkaloid responsible for the taste and smell of black pepper, irritates the nostrils causing the sneezing; some say that it is just the effect of the fine dust in ground pepper; still others say that pepper is not in fact a very effective sneeze-producer at all.

The US Library of Congress agrees with the first explanation. Their website explains that when piperine enters the nose, a sneezing reflex is triggered when nerve endings inside the mucous membrane of the nose are stimulated. "Actually," the site explains, "the nose wants to kick out this irritant and the only way it knows how to do this is by sneezing."