Molecular basis and potential applications of capsaicinoids and capsinoids against the elongation of etiolated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) coleoptiles in foods

•QSAR models were built for the inhibitory activity of capsaicinoids and capsinoids.•All models are statistically significant with strong predictivity and reliability.•The key steric structural requirements for their bioactivity were revealed.•The bioactivity of newly designed capsaicinoids and capsinoids were predicted.•Their mechanistic hypothesis and their applications in foods were supposed.