Pepper spray also known as OC spray (from “Oleoresin Capsicum”), OC gas and capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain and even temporary blindness) that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense including defense against dogs and animals.
Its inflammatory effects causes temporary blindness allows officials to more easily restrain subjects and permits persons using pepper spray for self-defense an opportunity to escape.
The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus including chilis. Extraction of oleoresin capsicum from peppers involves finely ground capsicum from which capsaicin is extracted in an organic solvent such as ethanol. The solvent is then evaporated and the remaining waxlike resin is the oleoresin capsicum. An emulsifier such as propylene glycol is used to suspend the OC in water and pressurized to make it aerosol in pepper spray. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method is used to measure the amount of capsaicin and major capsaicinoids within pepper sprays.
Peter Legodi –