ReviewPharmacological reviews2012
Unravelling the mystery of capsaicin: a tool to understand and treat pain.
Review in Pharmacological reviews, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 139 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
139 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 340 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of acute Capsaicin analogue intake on athletic performance: a three-level meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Effects of Capsaicin on Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Capsaicin: A Two-Decade Systematic Review of Global Research Output and Recent Advances Against Human Cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Responsiveness of electrical nociceptive detection thresholds to capsaicin (8 %)-induced changes in nociceptive processing.Experimental brain research · 2016Trial
- Blockade of glutamate release by botulinum neurotoxin type A in humans: a dermal microdialysis study.Pain research & managementTrial
- The dual role of capsaicin in inflammatory bowel disease: from TRPV1-mediated protection to neurogenic inflammation.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Microfluidic-enabled stretchable thermoelectric device array for multimodal haptic interfaces.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2026Article
- Analgesic effects of human placental hydrolysate on capsaicin-induced hyperalgesia in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Spicy Personality: On the Relationship Between Personality Traits and the Preference for Spicy Foods.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Carboxylated prodrug of capsaicin with enhanced peripheral nerve permeation mediated by monocarboxylate transporters for long-lasting local anesthesia.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2026Article
- Review
- Direct Effects of Capsaicin on Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channels of Mammalian Skeletal Muscle.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- Exploring pain-motor dynamics: preliminary insights through exploration of descending inhibition and corticospinal excitability.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Peritoneal delivery of capsinoids, nonpungent TRPV1 agonists, induces mild hypothermia in conscious mice through TRPV1 activation of visceral vagal afferents.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Capsaicin Alleviates Autophagy-Lysosomal Dysfunction via PPARA-Mediated V-ATPase Subunit ATP6V0E1 Signaling in 3xTg-AD Mice.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Capsaicin as a Microbiome Modulator: Metabolic Interactions and Implications for Host Health.Metabolites · 2025Review
- Cisplatin-Induced Muscle Wasting and Atrophy: Molecular Mechanism and Potential Therapeutic Interventions.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Review
- Intraplantar β-Caryophyllene Alleviates Pain and Inflammation in STZ-Induced Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy via CBInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Article
79 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
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 (TRPV1), part of the superfamily of TRP receptors, sensing external events. This receptor is found on key fine sensory afferents, and so the use of capsaicin to selectively activate pain afferents has been exploited in animal studies, human psychophysics, and imaging studies. Its effects depend on the dose and route of administration and may include sensitization, desensitization, withdrawal of afferent nerve terminals, or even overt death of afferent fibers. The ability of capsaicin to generate central hypersensitivity has been valuable in understanding the consequences and mechanisms behind enhanced central processing of pain. In addition, capsaicin has been used as a therapeutic agent when applied topically, and antagonists of the TRPV1 receptor have been developed. Overall, the numerous uses for capsaicin are clear; hence, the rationale of this review is to bring together and discuss the different types of studies that exploit these actions to shed light upon capsaicin working both as a tool to understand pain but also as a treatment for chronic pain. This review will discuss the various actions of capsaicin and how it lends itself to these different purposes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.