CHEMICAL AND ELEMENTAL COMPARISON OF 2 FORMULATIONS OF OLEORESIN CAPSICUM

In-custody deaths following the application of pepper spray weaponry b y law enforcement personnel have increased in California over the last few years. Oleoresin capsicum (OC), an oily extract of hot peppers, i s the active ingredient in the spray, but little detailed information on product mixtures is available. Since OC extracts contain a multitud e of natural compounds at irregular concentrations, there could be con siderable variation in overall chemical composition among the differen t formulations of both 'natural' and 'synthetic' OC preparations. This was confirmed by organic and inorganic analyses performed on OC spray s produced by two manufacturers licensed for distribution within the s tate of California. The results indicated that the differences could l ead to considerable inconsistency in weapon effectiveness, and suggest ed that more comprehensive studies are warranted.