Capsicum 2.466% ointment
Capsaicin is most often used as a topical analgesic and exists in many formulations of cream, liquid, and patch preparations of various strengths; however, it may also be found in some dietary supplements.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Capsaicin
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Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Capsaicin
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and NHS BNF section grouping. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Clinical guidelines and formulary information
British National Formulary
Capsaicin
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
NICE clinical guidance(6)
Neuropathic pain in adults: pharmacological management in non-specialist settings (CG173)
Percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for refractory neuropathic pain (HTG308)
Transcranial MRI-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for neuropathic pain (HTG491)
Osteoarthritis in over 16s: diagnosis and management (NG226)
FLEXISEQ for osteoarthritis (MIB80)
Aptiva for painful diabetic neuropathy (MIB119)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & product information
Official product databases and supply status monitoring
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. emc (electronic medicines compendium) is operated by Datapharm Ltd. Shortage information sourced from NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), sps.nhs.uk.
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF codes from NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
5.0 min
Mechanism
Capsaicin has been shown to reduce the amount of substance P associated with inf…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
2 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
90%
Half-life
26.6 mg
Metabolism
Elimination
10 %
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1591 interactions
Capsaicin can cause serious irritation, conjunctivitis and lacrimation via contact with eyes. It induces a burning sensation and pain in case of contact with eyes and skin.
As it is also irritating to the respiratory system, it causes lung irritation and coughing as well as bronchoconstriction. Other respiratory effects include laryngospasm, swelling of the larynx and lungs, chemical pneumonitis,respiratory arrest and central nervous system effects such as convulsions and excitement .
[L1944]
In case of ingestion, gastrointestinal tract irritation may be observed along with a sensation of warmth or painful burning MSDS. Symptoms of systemic toxicity include disorientation, fear, loss of body motor control including diminished hand-eye coordination, hyperventilation, tachycardia, and pulmonary oedema .
[L1944]
Careful early decontamination is recommended and medical intervention should be initiated for any life-threatening symptoms.
In case of contact, individual must be removed from the source of exposure and the contacted skin and mucous membranes should be thoroughly washed with copious amounts of water .
[L1944]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A32319]
The peak blood concentration can be reached within 1 hour following administration .
[A32319]
Capsaicin may undergo minor metabolism in the small intestine epithelial cells post-absorption from the stomach into the small intestines. While oral pharmacokinetics information in humans is limited, ingestion of equipotent dose of 26.6 mg of pure capsaicin, capsaicin was detected in the plasma after 10 minutes and the peak plasma concentration of 2.47 ± 0.13 ng/ml was reached at 47.1 ± 2.0 minutes .
[A32319]
Systemic: Following intravenous or subcutaneous administration in animals, the concentrations in the brain and spinal cord were approximately 5-fold higher than that in blood and the concentration in the liver was approximately 3-fold higher than that in blood .
[A32319]
Topical: Topical capsaicin in humans is rapidly and well absorbed through the skin, however systemic absorption following topical or transdermal administration is unlikely .
[A32319]
For patients receiving the topical patch containing 179 mg of capsaicin, a population analysis was performed and plasma concentrations of capsaicin were fitted using a one-compartment model with first-order absorption and linear elimination. The mean peak plasma concentration was 1.86 ng/mL but the maximum value observed in any patient was 17.8 ng/mL .
[A32319]
[A32319]
Following topical application of 3% solution of capsaicin, the half-life of capsaicin was approximately 24 h .
[A32319]
The mean population elimination half-life was 1.64 h following application of a topical patch containing 179 mg of capsaicin .
[A32319]
[A32319]
It is proposed that cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes may play some role in hepatic drug metabolism .
[A32319]
In vitro studies of capsaicin in human skin suggest slow biotransformation with most capsaicin remaining unchanged.
[A32319]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:11050376 PMID:11243859 PMID:11226139 PMID:12077606
Seems to mediate proton influx and may be involved in intracellular acidosis in nociceptive neurons. Involved in mediation of inflammatory pain and hyperalgesia. Sensitized by a phosphatidylinositol second messenger system activated by receptor tyrosine kinases, which involves PKC isozymes and PCL.
Activated by vanilloids, like capsaicin, and temperatures higher than 42 degrees Celsius .
PMID:37117175
Upon activation, exhibits a time- and Ca(2+)-dependent outward rectification, followed by a long-lasting refractory state. Mild extracellular acidic pH (6.5) potentiates channel activation by noxious heat and vanilloids, whereas acidic conditions (pH <6) directly activate the channel. Can be activated by endogenous compounds, including 12-hydroperoxytetraenoic acid and bradykinin.
Acts as ionotropic endocannabinoid receptor with central neuromodulatory effects. Triggers a form of long-term depression (TRPV1-LTD) mediated by the endocannabinoid anandamine in the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens by affecting AMPA receptors endocytosis
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
ATC M02AB01
ATC N01BX04
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Capsaicin
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
3610
ChemSpider
1265957
BindingDB
20461
PDB
4DY
ZINC
ZINC000001530575
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:12716
GenAtlas
TRPV1
GeneCards
TRPV1
GenBank Gene Database
AJ277028
GenBank Protein Database
8977866
Guide to Pharmacology
507
UniProt Accession
TRPV1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:30306
GeneCards
PHB2
UniProt Accession
PHB2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2637
GenAtlas
CYP3A4
GeneCards
CYP3A4
GenBank Gene Database
M18907
Guide to Pharmacology
1337
UniProt Accession
CP3A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:9605
GenAtlas
PTGS2
GeneCards
PTGS2
GenBank Gene Database
L15326
GenBank Protein Database
291988
Guide to Pharmacology
1376
UniProt Accession
PGH2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7218
GenAtlas
MPO
GeneCards
MPO
GenBank Gene Database
J02694
GenBank Protein Database
189040
Guide to Pharmacology
2789
UniProt Accession
PERM_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2596
GenAtlas
CYP1A2
GeneCards
CYP1A2
GenBank Gene Database
Z00036
Guide to Pharmacology
1319
UniProt Accession
CP1A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2631
GeneCards
CYP2E1
GenBank Gene Database
J02625
GenBank Protein Database
181360
Guide to Pharmacology
1330
UniProt Accession
CP2E1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6833
GenAtlas
MAOA
GeneCards
MAOA
GenBank Gene Database
M68840
GenBank Protein Database
187353
Guide to Pharmacology
2489
UniProt Accession
AOFA_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2689
GenAtlas
DBH
GeneCards
DBH
GenBank Gene Database
X13255
GenBank Protein Database
30474
Guide to Pharmacology
2486
UniProt Accession
DOPO_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4341
GenAtlas
GLUL
GeneCards
GLUL
GenBank Gene Database
Y00387
GenBank Protein Database
31833
UniProt Accession
GLNA_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:983
GenAtlas
BCHE
GeneCards
BCHE
GenBank Gene Database
M32391
GenBank Protein Database
1311630
Guide to Pharmacology
2471
UniProt Accession
CHLE_HUMAN
Patent information
2 active patents, 6 expired
Source: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0. Patent data sourced from national patent offices. Expiry dates may not reflect extensions, regulatory exclusivity periods, or legal challenges.
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications: