Capsaicin

Pungency in Capsicum fruits is due to the accumulation of the alkaloid capsaicin and its analogs. The biosynthesis of capsaicin is restricted to the genus Capsicum and results from the acylation of an aromatic moiety, vanillylamine, by a branched-chain fatty acid. Many of the enzymes involved in capsaicin biosynthesis are not well characterized and the regulation of the pathway is not fully understood. Based on the current pathway model, candidate genes were identified in public databases and the literature, and genetically mapped. A published EST co-localized with the Pun1 locus which is required for the presence of capsaicinoids. This gene, AT3, has been isolated and its nucleotide sequence has been determined in an array of genotypes within the genus. AT3 showed significant similarity to acyltransferases in the BAHD superfamily. The recessive allele at this locus contains a deletion spanning the promoter and first exon of the predicted coding region in every non-pungent accession tested. Transcript and protein expression of AT3 was tissue-specific and developmentally regulated. Virus-induced gene silencing of AT3 resulted in a decrease in the accumulation of capsaicinoids, a phenotype consistent with pun1. In conclusion, gene mapping, allele sequence data, expression profile and silencing analysis collectively indicate that the Pun1 locus in pepper encodes a putative acyltransferase, and the pun1 allele, used in pepper breeding for nearly 50 000 years, results from a large deletion at this locus.

In the eye of rats the long-lasting specific desensitization induced by local or systemic capsaicin treatment is characterized by three phases: 1. complete insensitivity, 2. decreased sensitivity and a tendency to rapid adaptation, 3. normal initial sensitivity with a tendency to rapid adaptation to chemical pain stimuli. A low density of microvesicles and swollen mitochondria were found after local capsaicin treatment in certain nerve endings of the cornea of rats, but no signs of axonal degeneration or alteration in fine structure of non-neural elements were seen. Systemic capsaicin desensitization induced selective mitochondrial swelling in B type of neurons of the trigeminal ganglion which was demonstrable even 60 days after the pretreatment. Actinomycin-D, 8-azaguanine, 6-azauracil, aminopterin, mannomustin or cycloheximide in high doses did not alter the desensitizing effect of systemic capsaicin treatment. However, pretreatment of rats with colchicine or vinblastine prolonged the desensitizing effect of local capsaicin application, probably by inhibiting the axonal flow. It is concluded that capsaicin is a specific sensory neuron blocking agent having a practically irreversible effect in rats and guineapigs.

A simple method for the analysis of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in peppers and pepper sauces by solid phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry has been developed. A novel device was designed for direct extraction solid phase microextraction in order to avoid damage to the fiber. The analysis was performed without derivatization for the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. Selection fiber, extraction temperature, extraction time and pH, were optimized. The method was linear in the range 0.109–1.323 μg/mL for capsaicin and 0.107–1.713 μg/mL for dihydrocapsaicin with correlation coefficient up to r = 0.9970 for both capsaicinoids. The precision of the method was less than 10%. The method was applied to the analysis of 11 varieties of peppers and four pepper sauces. A broad range of capsaicin (55.0–25 459 μg/g) and dihydrocapsaicin (93–1 130 μg/g) was found in the pepper and pepper sauces samples (4.3–717.3 and 1.0–134.8 μg/g), respectively.

. When the psychosis-- nonpsychosis grouping was considered, patients with psychosis responded dramatically better to ECT in all assessments, whereas those without psychosis responded similarly to both treatments. Conclusions: Overall ECT was a more potent treatment for patients with MDD, this being particularly evident in patients with MDD and psychosis; however, in patients with MDD without psychosis the effects of rTMS were similar to those of ECT. The results we report are encouraging and support an important role for rTMS in the treatment of severe MDD; however, additional blinded studies are needed to precisely define this role. Biol Psychiatry 2000;47:314--324 2000 Society of Biological Psychiatry Key Words: TMS, ECT, MDD, transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroconvulsive therapy Introduction T ranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was introduced by Barker et al in 1985 as a new method for noninvas

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify the predominant capsaicinoid analogues in extracts of fresh peppers, in oleoresin capsicum, and pepper sprays. The concentration of capsaicinoids in fresh peppers was variable. Variability was dependent upon the relative pungency of the pepper type and geographical origin of the pepper. Nonivamide was conclusively identified in the extracts of fresh peppers, despite numerous reports that nonivamide was not a natural product. In the oleoresin capsicum samples, the pungency was proportional to the total concentration of capsaicinoids and was related by a factor of approximately 15,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)/microg of total capsaicinoids. The principle analogues detected in oleoresin capsicum were capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin and appeared to be the analogues primarily responsible for the pungency of the sample. The analysis of selected samples of commercially available pepper spray products also demonstrated...

El chile piquín, como componente del matorral submontano del noreste de México, es una planta anual que también crece y se desarrolla de manera continua en zonas tropicales. Además de los usos culinarios
se ha reportado su actividad en problemas cardiovasculares, enfermedades crónicas degenerativas, estimulante, digestiva
y colerético, así como su capacidad de reducir los riesgos de contraer cáncer y como bactericida. Ante esta diversidad de aplicaciones y en busca de alternativas que contribuyan a mejorar la calidad de la producción agrícola, se plantea la evaluación de la actividad biológica de extractos etanólicos de frutos de chile piquín (Capsicum annuum L. var aviculare) y de capsaicina, sobre el crecimiento de Aspergillus fl avus, mediante dos técnicas: 1) técnica del pozo en agar-papa-dextrosa (PDA) con la adición 20μL de cada uno de los tratamientos en
concentraciones de 200, 400, 600, 800 y 1000 ppm., 2) la técnica de dilución en agar (PDA) que consiste en realizar una mezcla homogénea entre las soluciones de los tratamientos y el agar (PDA) antes de su solidificación. La actividad de los tratamientos se reflejó por la formación de un halo deinhibición y por el crecimiento radial del
hongo, en cada técnica respectivamente. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que tanto la capsaicina como los extractos de chile piquín inhibieron significativamente el crecimiento radial de A. flavus, siendo estos resultados estadísticamente comparables a los que se obtienen al aplicar el fungicida comercial captán.

The piquin chile as a component of submontane shrubland in northeastern Mexico, is an annual plant that also grows and develops
across the tropics. In addition to its culinary uses the fruit has been reported as having compounds with stimulant, choleretic and
digestive activity, helpful in the treatment of cardiovascular and chronic degenerative diseases and able to reduce the risk of cancer or act as a bactericide. Given this diversity of effects and seeking alternatives
to help improve the quality of agricultural production, the biological activity of ethanol extracts of piquin chile fruits (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare L.) and of capsaicin on Aspergillus fl avus growth was evaluated, using two techniques: 1) In the well in plate diffusion technique, 20 μL of capsaicin or extract at a concentration of 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 ppm were poured into wells made in potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates previously inoculated with A. flavus spores. 2) For the dilution technique, 2 mL of capsaicin or fruit extract in the concentrations mentioned were added to PDA making a homogeneous mixture before solidification. The activity of the treatments was reflected by the formation of an inhibition halo and the radial growth of fungus in each technique, respectively. The results showed that both capsaicin and piquin chile extracts signifi cantly inhibited radial growths of A. flavus, these results are statistically equal to those obtained by applying the commercial fungicide captan.

Spices and herbs are traditionally added to olive oil in Mediterranean gastronomy to enhance its aroma and taste. This paper aims to characterize olive oil aromatized by addition of dried chili pepper (Capsicum annum) (DCP) at different concentrations (10% and 20% by weight) up to 30 days of infusion. Capsaicinoids quantification by HPLC-DAD, volatile compounds analysis by SPME-GC–MS and antioxidant activity by ABTS method were performed on chili pepper flavored olive oil (CPOO) in comparison to whole olive oil. At day 7 of infusion, the maximum capsaicinoids content was reached for both the concentrations used and no significant increase was observed for longer infusion times. The volatile headspace composition of CPOOs was influenced by the concentration of DCP added. The addition of DCP caused a significant increase in hexanal, related to oxidation processes. 2-Methylbutanal, 3-methylbutanal and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one were also detected in CPOO and derived from chili as degradation products of the drying process. DCP infusion significantly enriched olive oil with antioxidant compounds and also modified its volatile profile. Capsaicinoids and aroma compounds were rapidly released within the first week of chili infusion in CPOOs, thus suggesting reducing infusion time by optimizing DCP concentration in order to improve CPOO quality and shelf life.