Nonivamide is a synthetic analog of capsaicin, a pungent ingredient in chili peppers. It binds to TRPV1 channel and activates it with high potency (EC₅₀ ≈ 10^-7 M). Treatment with nonivamide activates TRPV1 channels, allowing non-selective cation flux into neurons, causing membrane depolarization and increase in cytosolic Ca²⁺ due to release of Ca²⁺ from the endoplasmic reticulum¹.

TRPV1 is a member of the TRP family of ion-channels and found throughout the body in epithelial cells and in peripheral and central terminals in neurons. The TRPV family includes six mammalian ion channels, TRPV1-TRPV6. TRPV1 is a Ca²⁺-permeable channel which is activated and modulated by a variety of exogenous stimuli such as heat, changes in pH, and irritant and pungent compounds and by selected molecules released during inflammatory processes and tissue damage².