Capsaicin Troche for Swallowing Dysfunction in Older People

Abstract

Daily capsaicin supplementation resulted in a significant improvement in upper protective respiratory reflexes, particularly in older people with a high risk for aspiration.

Swallowing Function Improvement Effect of Ginger <i>(Zingiber officinale)</i>

“…It induces strong secretion of SP from sensory nerve endings in the pharynx and esophageal mucosa (Ebihara et al, 2005). The gingerol and shogaol components of ginger also have a stimulating effect on TRPV1 (Iwasaki et al, 2006).…”

“…However, evaluation of the swallowing function is performed by endoscopy or angiography. SP is secreted from nerve endings in the oropharyngeal mucosa and is involved in swallowing; decreased secretion of SP is reportedly a cause of dysphagia (Arai et al, 2003;Ebihara et al, 2005;Nakagawa et al, 1995).…”

“…In addition, the SP concentration in the sputum of elderly people who develop frequent pneumonia is significantly lower than that in healthy individuals. A correlation between the reduction of the rate of pneumonia or improvement in aspiration and the plasma SP concentration was reported in recent years (Arai et al, 2003;Ebihara et al, 1993;Ebihara et al, 2005;Nakagawa et al, 1995).…”

“…The ginger content was calculated from the capsaicin tablets used by Ebihara et al (2005) and Sugiyama et al (2006). Gingercontaining OD tablets were compression-molded in the same manner as the OD tablets.…”

“…Therefore, to resolve these problems, attention has been focused on food components. One food component that promotes SP release in the oral cavity and improves the swallowing reflex is capsaicin (the pungent component of Capsicum annuum) (Ebihara et al, 1993;Ebihara et al, 2005;Nakagawa et al, 1995), which is an agonist of the transient vanilloid type l (TRPV1) receptor potential (Caterina et al, 1997;Ebihara et al, 1993;Ebihara et al, 2005;Holzer, 2011;Szallasi and Blumberg, 1999;Tominaga and Caterina, 2004).…”