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 protection including defense against dogs and bear pepper spray.
Although considered a less lethal agent, it may be deadly in rare cases, and concerns have been raised about a number of deaths where being pepper sprayed could have been a contributing factor.
The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of the plant 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 wax-like resin is oleoresin capsicum. An emulsifier such as proplene glycol is used to suspend OC in water, and pressurized to make it aerosol in pepper spray. The high performance liquid perform otology (HPLC) method is used to measure the amount of capsaicin within pepper sprays. Scoville Heat Units (SHU) are used to measure the concentration or "heat" of pepper spray.
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