Temporal Interactions between Oral Irritants: Piperine, Zingerone, and Capsaicin

• Published in: Chemical senses Vol. 32; no. 5; pp. 455 - 462
• Main Authors: Affeltranger, Mark A., McBurney, Donald H., Balaban, Carey D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01.06.2007; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: adaptation; Administration, Oral; Alkaloids - toxicity; Benzodioxoles - toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; capsaicin; Capsaicin - toxicity; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Guaiacol - analogs & derivatives; Guaiacol - toxicity; Humans; Irritants - toxicity; Olfaction. Taste; Perception; Piperidines - toxicity; piperine; Polyunsaturated Alkamides - toxicity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; psychophysics; zingerone; adaptation; piperine; psychophysics; zingerone; capsaicin; Piperine; Psychophysics; Capsaicin; Interaction; Adaptation
• ISSN: 0379-864X; 1464-3553
• DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjm014

Sequential presentation of 2 irritants may produce cross-sensitization or cross-adaptation effects upon introduction of the second irritant. In Experiment 1, subjects were given either 34 min of stimulation with zingerone, capsaicin, or piperine or one of those irritants for 23 min followed by blanks for 23 min. In Experiment 2, subjects received one irritant for 23-min irritants, followed immediately by another for 23 min (piperine → zingerone, piperine → capsaicin, zingerone → piperine, or zingerone → capsaicin). Cross-sensitization was observed for the piperine → zingerone, zingerone → piperine, and piperine → capsaicin groups; cross-adaptation was observed for the zingerone → capsaicin group. Cross-adaptation and cross-sensitization were predicted by adding the independent time courses of the respective irritants, starting the second at the offset of the first. These responses were also predicted by a mathematical model of central processing of primary afferent responses.