noun
Meaning 1
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences
Examples
- 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).
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided