resiniferatoxin

English

Structure diagram of resiniferatoxin

Etymology

From resinifera + toxin, in reference to the plant Euphorbia resinifera (resin spurge), from which it is extracted.

Noun

resiniferatoxin (uncountable)

1. (organic chemistry) A naturally occurring ultrapotent capsaicin analogue (having in its pure form a Scoville heat unit measure of 16,000,000,000) that activates the receptor TRPV1 (aka vanilloid receptor 1 or the capsaicin receptor) in a subpopulation of primary afferent sensory neurons involved in nociception.
   • 1992, Arpad Szallasi, Peter M. Blumberg, 27: Resiniferatoxin, P. Michael Conn (editor), Neurotoxins, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (Academic Press), page 368,

     An exciting recent advance in the vanilloid field has been our discovery that resiniferatoxin (RTX), a naturally occurring diterpene combining structural features of the phorbol ester tumor promoters and of capsaicin (see structures in Fig. 1), functions as an ultrapotent capsaicin analog (4—6) and that the esterification of other phorbol-related diterpenes with homovanillic acid at the C-20 position yields synthetic vanilloids of the RTX class with unique spectra of action (7).

   • 2010, Pamela Ellsworth, Alan J. Wein, Questions & Answers About Overactive Bladder, 2nd edition, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, page 98:

     They both cause an initial stimulation and inflammation, capsaicin much more so than resiniferatoxin.

   • 2010, “Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience”, in George Koob, Michael Le Moal, Richard Thompson, editors, Elsevier, Academic Press, page 395:

     In heterologous expression systems, TRPV1 can be activated not only by vanilloid compounds, but also by resiniferatoxin, extracellular protons, and arachidonic acid metabolites.

Synonyms

• (naturally occurring capsaicin analogue): RTX

Hypernyms

• (naturally occurring capsaicin analogue): diterpene, vanilloid