How Capsaicin Interacts with Pain Receptors

Filed in archive Food and Agriculture on February 27, 2009

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 7560169

New research published in PLoS Biology further expounds on capsaicin's role in chronic pain relief. According to a related report:

"The receptor acts like a gate to the neurons. When stimulated it opens, letting outside calcium enter the cells until the receptor shuts down, a process called desensitization," study leader Feng Qin, an associate professor at the university's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said in a news release issued by the institution.

The flood of calcium changes the levels at which the receptors detect pain signal. "In other words, the receptor had not desensitized per se, but its responsiveness range was shifted," Qin said.

Researchers hope that these findings may help lead to developing other analgesics that ease pain without causing irritation.