Non-targeted metabolomics analysis reveals changes in plasma and skin metabolic profiles after capsaicin gavage in mice

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Background As an essential spice, chili pepper has essential physiological functions for humans. Capsaicin is the main compound found in chili pepper and has complex pharmacologic effects. Capsaicin has been observed to play an important role in obesity, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, various cancers and dermatologic conditions. Although possessing a broad spectrum of bioactivities, changes in the metabolic profile of the organism are inadequately unknown after oral gavage with capsaicin. Methods Therefore, an untargeted metabolomics approach coupled with multivariate statistical analyses was first applied to study the plasma and skin metabolic differences between mouse groups with and without capsaicin treatment by gavage. And we discussed these differential metabolites in the context of the physiological functions of capsaicin. Results The results showed that 38 plasma metabolites and 7 skin metabolites were associated with capsaicin intake, mainly associated with energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that these differential metabolites are primarily involved in some crucial pathways, such as Central carbon metabolism in cancer, Pyruvate metabolism, and ABC transporters in plasma; sphingolipid metabolism in the skin. Conclusions Plasma and skin metabolome showed significant alterations in response to the capsaicin supplementation, and these findings contribute to a better understanding of the potential effects of a capsaicin-rich diet on organisms.