Capsaicin(Cap) has been reported to inhibit endotoxin-induced production of cytokines and NOx in vitro. In this study, we investigated the effects of Cap on endotoxin-induced shock mice. Lipopolysaccharide(LPS) from Escherichia coli was administered to male BALB/c mice intraperitoneally(i.p.) and Cap was administered subcutaneously(s.c.). Survival of mice was monitored at intervals of 24 hours for 7 days and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α), interleukin-1beta(IL-1β), and nitrite/nitrate(NOx) were measured after LPS administration(20mg/kg, i.p.). Treatment with Cap(4mg/kg, s.c.) at 5 min after LPS administration to the mice significantly improved the rate of 7-day survival rate from 0.0 to 91.7%(p<0.001). However, treatment with Cap at one hour before LPS administration did not improve the survival rate. Cap reduced area under the response curve(AUC) by 41% for TNF-α(p<0.01), 61% for IL-1β(p<0.05), and 76.1% for NOx(p<0.05) in endotoxemic mice. These findings suggest that Cap administration may be beneficial during sepsis.

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