Capsaicin is the active ingredient of chili peppers and gives them the characteristic pungent flavor. Understanding the actions of capsaicin led to the discovery of its receptor, transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1). This receptor is found on key sensory afferents, and so the use of capsaicin to selectively activate pain afferents has been studied in animal and huma...

Capsaicin is a naturally occurring vanilloid that causes a hot, pungent sensation in the human oral cavity. This trigeminal stimulus activates TRPV1 receptors and stimulates an influx of cations into sensory cells. TRPV1 receptors function as homotetramers that also respond to heat, proinflammatory substances, lipoxygenase products, resiniferatoxin, endocannabinoids, protons, and peptide toxins...

Protease-activated receptors (PARs) 1 and 2 are expressed in capsaicin-sensitive sensory neurons, being anti- and pro-nociceptive, respectively. Given the possible cross talk between PAR-2 and capsaicin receptors, we investigated if PAR-2 activation could facilitate capsaicin-evoked visceral pain and referred hyperalgesia in the mouse and also examined the effect of PAR-1 activation in this mod...

Previous results demonstrated that capsaicin induces the reversible tight junctions (TJ) opening via cofilin activation. The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying the reversible TJ opening and compared the effect to the irreversible opening induced by actin inhibitors. Capsaicin treatment induced the F-actin alteration unique to capsaicin compared to actin-interacting agents such...

A large number of pharmacological studies have used capsaicin as a tool to activate many physiological systems, with an emphasis on pain research but also including functions such as the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, and the urinary tract. Understanding the actions of capsaicin led to the discovery its receptor, transient receptor potential (TRP) vanilloid subfamily member 1 (T...

Patients complaining of upper and lower airway symptoms caused by scents and chemicals have previously been shown to have increased cough sensitivity to inhaled capsaicin, but the precise mechanisms behind this reaction are unknown. Hypothesizing that a neurochemical alteration related to sensory hyperreactivity (SHR) of the airway mucosa occurs, we measured levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) ...

The present studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that activation of peripheral cannabinoid CB(2) receptors would suppress hyperalgesia evoked by intradermal administration of capsaicin, the pungent ingredient in hot chili peppers. The CB(2)-selective cannabinoid agonist (2-iodo-5-nitro-phenyl)-[1-(1-methyl-piperidin-2-ylmethyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-methanone (AM1241) (33, 330 microg/kg i.p.)...

Capsaicin is a pungent ingredient in chili red peppers and has been linked to suppression of growth in various cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanism(s) by which capsaicin induces growth arrest and apoptosis of cancer cells is not completely understood. In the present study, we investigated whether capsaicin alters β-catenin-dependent signaling in human colorectal cancer cells in vitro...

In this study, we investigated the antitumoral effects of combined treatment using sorafenib and capsaicin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Here we showed that the combination of the two drugs had a much stronger inhibitory effect on both HepG2 and Huh-7 human HCC cells growth than either drug alone. The isobolograms demonstrated that the combinations investigated in this study produced...

Capsaicin (trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide), a natural product of Capsicum species, is known to induce excitation of nociceptive terminals involved in pain perception. Recent studies have also shown that capsaicin not only has chemopreventive properties against certain carcinogens and mutagens but also exerts anticancer activity. Here, we demonstrated the antiangiogenic activity of capsa...