Shogaol, also known as (6)-shogaol, is a pungent constituent of ginger

Ginger

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

 similar in chemical structure to gingerol

Gingerol

Gingerol, or sometimes [6]-gingerol, is the active constituent of fresh ginger. Chemically, gingerol is a relative of capsaicin and piperine, the compounds which give chilli peppers and black pepper their respective spicyness...

. Like zingerone

Zingerone

Zingerone, also called vanillylacetone, is a key component of the pungency of ginger. Zingerone is a crystalline solid that is sparingly soluble in water, but soluble in ether....

, it is produced when ginger is dried or cooked.

Shogaols are artifacts formed during storage or through excess heat, probably created by a dehydration reaction

Dehydration reaction

In chemistry and the biological sciences, a dehydration reaction is usually defined as a chemical reaction that involves the loss of water from the reacting molecule. Dehydration reactions are a subset of elimination reactions...

 of the gingerols. The ratio of shogaols to gingerols sometimes is taken as an indication of product quality.

The name 'shogaol' is derived from the Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 name for ginger (生姜、shōga).

Shogaol is rated 160,000 SHU on Scoville scale

Scoville scale

The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat of a chili pepper. The number of Scoville heat units indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes.The scale is named after...

. When compared to other pungent compounds, shogaol is moderately more pungent than piperine

Piperine

Piperine is the alkaloid responsible for the pungency of black pepper and long pepper, along with chavicine . It has also been used in some forms of traditional medicine and as an insecticide. Piperine forms monoclinic needles, is slightly soluble in water and more so in alcohol, ether or...

, but less than capsaicin

Capsaicin

Capsaicin 2CHCH=CH4CONHCH2C6H3-4--3- ) is the active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is an irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact...

.

Compound	Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
Capsaicin	15,000,000
(6)-Shogaol	160,000
Piperine	100,000
(6)-Gingerol	60,000