Capsaicin selectively reduces airway responses to histamine, substance P and vagal stimulation.

Airway responsiveness to histamine, substance P, methacholine and bilateral electrical vagal stimulation was assessed in capsaicin-treated and control guinea pigs. In animals treated with capsaicin (50 mg/kg s.c.) 7 days before experiments, airway responsiveness to histamine, substance P and vagal stimulation was significantly reduced but responsiveness to methacholine was unchanged. The findings suggest that histamine and substance P, but not methacholine, require capsaicin-sensitive sensory afferent nerves for part of their actions.