I,Introduction to capsaicin powder
Capsaicin, whose chemical name is trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide and whose chemical formula is C18H27NO3, is the active component of chili peppers. It is irritating to mammals including humans and can cause burning in the mouth. Burning sensation. Capsaicin is the active component of chili peppers. It is a vanilloidamine derivative, accounting for about 70% of capsaicinoids, and is the main determinant of spiciness. The chemical name of capsaicin is trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenylphthalamine. It is easily soluble in lipids and insoluble in water. It is colorless and odorless in the form of crystalline or waxy compounds. exist. Studies have shown that capsaicin can give people a spicy sensation, and has certain effects in relieving fatigue, lowering blood sugar and lipids, protecting the gastrointestinal tract, relieving pain, resisting radiation, and treating cancer. Although an appropriate amount of capsaicin can bring benefits to the human body, excessive intake of capsaicin is still harmful to the human body. This article explains the mode of action and various efficient applications of capsaicin, and emphasizes the rational use of capsaicin to exert its effects in a targeted manner based on its dosage and intake time.
Capsaicin is the active ingredient in chili peppers. It is irritating to mammals, including humans, and can produce a burning sensation in the mouth. Capsaicin and some related compounds, also known as capsaicin, are secondary metabolites produced by peppers and may serve as a deterrent to herbivores. Birds in general are not sensitive to chili peppers.
II,Capsaicin application
1. As a food additive. As a food seasoning, chili peppers need to be lightly processed to make chili sauce, etc. However, when these products are consumed, the capsaicin must undergo a leaching process, and the bioavailability of capsaicin is not high. At the same time, alkali continues to be released in the intestine, irritating the intestinal wall, causing abdominal discomfort, even anal burning, and inducing hemorrhoids. Therefore, capsaicin is extracted and separated from peppers and used as an additive in food processing, which is beneficial to the control of spiciness and the full absorption and utilization of capsaicin.
2. In terms of medicine and health care: my country is one of the first countries to use pepper as medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, pepper is used to treat stomach cold, rheumatism and other diseases. Modern research shows that capsaicin has the effects of anti-inflammation, analgesia, anesthesia and detoxification. Its analgesic effect is the same as that of morphine, but it is more durable than morphine. It can treat post-herpetic neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia and diabetic neuralgia. , rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, alopecia, etc. It has significant curative effect. In addition, capsaicin can also inhibit the occurrence of malignant tumors and has special effects on treating skin diseases, losing weight, etc.
3. Used in marine antifouling coatings: Some attached organisms in the ocean, such as barnacles, seaweeds, shellfish, etc., are attached to the bottom of ships, buoys, docks, bridge piers, seawater pipelines and breeding cages and nets. Due to their quantity It is huge and grows very fast, which can slow down ships, increase fuel, accelerate metal corrosion, block pipelines and cage meshes, unbalance underwater facilities, etc., causing great harm to human development of the ocean. Capsaicin acts as a repellent , has a strong repelling effect, does not kill marine life, and has obvious ecological benefits.
4. As an anti-termite and anti-rat repellent in wires and cables: PVC and polyethylene are increasingly used as insulation and sheathing materials in the wire and cable industry. In addition to being damaged by oxygen, heat, light, force, and chemical erosion, they In addition, it can also be eaten by termites, mice or hares, causing power outages, communication interruptions, and even short circuits that can cause fires. The strong pungent taste of capsaicin can strongly stimulate the oral mucosa and taste nerves of rodents. It hates chewing and can kill termites at the same time, so it has broad application prospects in wires and cables.
III,Mechanism of action of capsaicin
1. Capsaicin receptors and their functions
Capsaicin binds to VR1 and activates a membrane ion channel directly coupled to the receptor, which is a relatively non-specific cation channel. After the channel is opened, mainly calcium ions (and also sodium ions) enter the cell, potassium ions leave the cell, and some chloride ions also enter the cell to balance the charge. VR1-coupled channels are different from voltage-gated channels in that they cannot be blocked by sodium, potassium, or calcium channel blockers. But it can be blocked by ruthenium red. The capsaicin homologue gum lipotoxin isolated from the latex of Euphorbia gum plants can also activate VR1 and has a more powerful effect. Capsaicin is a competitive antagonist of VR1, but it does not cause pain or analgesia by itself. This means that it does not have a corresponding ligand that binds to the pain site.
The responses of primary sensory nerve cells in VR1-negative mice cultured in vitro to various noxious stimuli were severely impaired. Therefore, some people believe that VR1 plays a key role in the transmission of multiple types of noxious stimuli, and even believe that VR1 is essential for pain perception.
2. Ion channels and ion currents
In in vitro cell culture experiments, activating VR1 on the cell membrane of rat dorsal root ganglion can observe a uniform intracellular calcium ion influx. This process involves a rapid increase in intracellular calcium (a few minutes) followed by a long period of recovery (tens of minutes). Compared with the activation of voltage-gated calcium channels in the same cell by potassium ion depolarization, the magnitude and speed of the increase in intracellular calcium concentration caused by VR1 activation are similar, but the return of calcium ions to resting levels is much slower. many. Studies using mitochondrial decoupling agents have found that mitochondria play a buffering role in intracellular calcium ions during this process. When there is a large influx of extracellular calcium ions, the mitochondria absorb sodium and calcium ions. When the calcium ions in the cytoplasm are restored, the mitochondria release calcium ions, which prolongs the recovery time. During this long recovery process, nerve cells become unresponsive to both extracellular potassium ions and capsaicin. This may be related to the desensitizing effects of capsaicin and the memory of pain. Artificially cloned and expressed VR1 can be activated by vanillin compounds, hydrogen ions, heat greater than 43°C, and acid (pH ≤ 5.9). Therefore, some people believe that VR1 is a molecular complex that causes pain due to chemical and physical stimulation. There are also experimental results that do not support this hypothesis. Nagy et al. used electrophysiology and ion current measurement methods to compare the cell membrane responses of rat primary sensory cells to capsaicin and noxious thermal stimulation, and confirmed that the properties of ion channels activated by capsaicin or thermal stimulation have many similarities. , but there is also an important difference, that is, the calcium ion permeability of heat-activated channels is lower than that of capsaicin-activated channels. Channels that respond to thermal stimuli or capsaicin are monosensitive, and only a few ion channels are dually sensitive to heat and capsaicin. At the whole-cell level, each cell can respond to heat or capsaicin. It can be inferred that the molecular essence of cellular responses caused by capsaicin and heat stimulation is different, which may be related to the multiple subtypes of VR1.
3. Neuropeptide release
Chili pepper activates VR1, opens calcium channels, influxes calcium ions, and increases the concentration of calcium ions in the cytoplasm, causing neurons and their fibers to release neuropeptides, such as substance P, neurokinin A, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and blood vessels. Active intestinal peptides and excitatory amino acids such as glutamate and aspartate. The specific mechanism by which capsaicin causes nerve cells to release substance P is not yet fully understood. In experiments on in vitro culture of rat dorsal root ganglion cells, it was found that capsaicin may cause the release of substance P through two mechanisms: one relies on extracellular Calcium ion and synaptosomal coupling protein 25Kpa (SNAP-25); on the other hand, in the absence of extracellular calcium ions and without SNAP-25, capsaicin can also successfully stimulate ganglion cells to release substance P.
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