W. Watson wrote:

I vaguely recall some years ago, a book devoted to the hottest form of
the substance that makes peppers hot. The author had a numeric scale to
rate the hotness and in what foods the substance was found it. One was
incredibly far ahead of the others.


Capsaicin is the substance. Wilbur Scoville is the inventor of the
scale. At 350,000 to 570,000 Scoville Units, the Red Savina Habanero
is considered the hottest chile (for comparison: jalapenos range from
2,500 to 5,000, cayenne from 30,000 to 50,000 and Scotch Bonnet from
150,000 to 325,000). There have been reports, none verified as yet
that I know of, of even hotter chiles being grown and used in Asia.
FWIW -- pure capsaicin is rated at 16,000,000 Scoville units.

Capsaicin creams are available for treating arthritis and rheumatism.
Ground cayenne is available in capsule form for various medicinal
uses, including gastrointestinal problems. Don't know whether it
would work for preventing seasickness, but at least one wouldn't
have a belly full of greasy meat before heading out to sea. :-)