Capsaicin is the most abundant pungent molecule identified in red chili peppers, and it is widely used for food flavoring, in pepper spray for self-defense devices and recently in ointments for the relief of neuropathic pain. Capsaicin and several other related vanilloid compounds are secondary plant metabolites. Capsaicin is a selective agonist of the transient receptor potential channel, vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1). After exposition to vanilloid solution, Caenorhabditis elegans wild type (N2) and mutants were placed on petri dishes divided in quadrants for heat stimulation. Thermal avoidance index was used to phenotype each tested C. elegans experimental groups. The data revealed for the first-time that capsaicin can impede nocifensive response of C. elegans to noxious heat (32-35 °C) following a sustained exposition. The effect was reversed 6 h post capsaicin exposition. Additionally, we identified the capsaicin target, the C. elegans transient receptor potential channel OCR-2 and not OSM-9. Further experiments also undoubtedly revealed anti-nociceptive effect for capsaicin analogues, including olvanil, gingerol, shogaol and curcumin.

中文翻译：

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辣椒素及其类似物会阻碍秀丽隐杆线虫对有害热的伤害性反应。

辣椒素是红辣椒中鉴定到的最丰富的刺激性分子，广泛用于食品调味料，用于自卫装置的胡椒喷雾剂和最近用于减轻神经性疼痛的药膏中。辣椒素和其他几种相关的香草类化合物是植物的次生代谢产物。辣椒素是瞬态受体电位通道香草素亚家族成员1（TRPV1）的选择性激动剂。暴露于类香草素溶液后，秀丽隐杆线虫野生型（N2）和突变体被放在皮氏培养皿中，分成四部分，进行热刺激。避热指数用于表型测试每个秀丽隐杆线虫实验组。数据首次揭示了辣椒素在持续暴露后能阻止秀丽隐杆线虫对有害热量（32-35°C）的伤害反应。辣椒素暴露后6小时，该作用被逆转。另外，我们鉴定了辣椒素靶标，秀丽隐杆线虫瞬时受体电位通道OCR-2，而不是OSM-9。毫无疑问，进一步的实验也显示了辣椒素类似物（包括olvanil，gingolol，shogaol和姜黄素）的镇痛作用。