Pungency (also called piquancy)'s a sharp and biting sensory impression. Food that causes this sensation's often called "spicy". Regarding chili peppers, it refers to a scientific equivalent of the Scoville scale of measuring spicyness. Mechanism The pungent feeling caused by allyl isothiocyanate, capsaicin, piperine, and allicin's caused by activation of the heat thermo- and chemosensitive TRP ion channels including TRPV1 and TRPA1 nociceptors.… (More on Pungency)