N-Palmitoyl-vanillamide (
palvanil) is a non-pungent capsaicinoid, found in low amounts in Capsicum and shown to rapidly desensitize transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1 (TRPV1) channels to the action of
capsaicin and to exert
analgesic effects after local administration. We have investigated here if systemic administration of
palvanil to mice causes two typical adverse events of TRPV1 agonists, i.e. profound changes in body temperature and bronchoconstriction, and if it can still produce effective inhibition of inflammatory and
chronic pain in different experimental models. Varying doses of
palvanil were tested subcutaneously and acutely on body temperature in vivo or, or as a bolus, on bronchopulmunary function ex vivo, in comparison with
capsaicin. Intraperitoneal
palvanil was also tested against
formalin-induced nocifensive behavior and
carrageenan-induced oedema and
thermal hyperalgesia, acutely, and against
mechanical allodynia and
thermal hyperalgesia in mice with spared nerve injury (SNI) of the sciatic nerve, after repeated administration over 7 days from SNI.
Palvanil, at therapeutically relevant doses, produced significantly less
hypothermia and bronchoconstriction than
capsaicin.
Palvanil (0.5-2.5 mg/kg) abolished
formalin-induced nocifensive behavior and strongly attenuated SNI-induced
mechanical allodynia and
thermal hyperalgesia and
carrageenan-induced oedema and
thermal hyperalgesia. Systemic administration of the non-pungent capsaicinoid,
palvanil, produces, at least in mice, much less of those side effects typical of TRPV1 agonists (
hypothermia and bronchoconstriction), whilst being very effective at reducing
pain and oedema. Thus,
palvanil might be developed further as a novel pharmacological treatment for chronic abnormal
pain.