Capsaicin activates heat loss and heat production simultaneously and independently in rats

Subcutaneous administration of capsaicin (5 mg/kg) immediately increased the temperature of the tail skin (T-sk) for 2 h in urethan-anesthetized rats, suggesting an increase in heat loss. O-2 consumption, an index of heat production, also immediately increased after the capsaicin injection, and this increase lasted for >10 h. Colonic temperature (T-co) decreased within 1 h after the injection, and this decrease was followed by a long-lasting hyperthermic period. Adrenal demedullation largely attenuated the capsaicin-induced increase in O-2 consumption, and sympathetic denervation of the interscapular brown adipose tissue partly attenuated the increase in O-2 consumption. However, capsaicin-induced heat loss was normal in these rats. In rats with cutaneous vasodilation maximized by warming and administration of hexamethonium, capsaicin did not further increase T-sk but normally induced heat production, and T-co gradually rose without a hypothermic period. Thus capsaicin simultaneously increased heat loss and heat production, and inhibition of one response did not affect the other. These findings suggest that capsaicin simultaneously activates independent networks for heat loss and heat production.