Determination of Capsaicin Induced Increase in Dermal Blood Flow Using Laser Doppler Flowmetry Technique

In the present study, we evaluated laser Doppler flowmetry technique using LDF100C (Biopac systems) by determining blood flow changes following acute application of capsaicin on 12 healthy human subjects. Capsaicin applied locally (topical application) at a dose of 0.075% produced significant increase in mean dermal blood flow from 31.4 ± 3.1 Blood Perfusion Units (BPU) to 115. 7 ± 24.6 Blood Perfusion Units (BPU) after 30 minutes, also there was significant difference in dermal blood flow change between placebo (32.1 ± 2.7 BPU) and capsaicin (115.7 ± 24.6 BPU) applica- tion. Capsaicin application produced significant percentage change in dermal blood flow by 291.0 ± 85.3% from baseline, while the change was insignificant with placebo (13.2 ± 7.4%). Therefore, it is suggested that this technique which is technically sound, non-invasive and inexpensive can be adopted in various fields of research to determine blood flow changes and this technique can also be utilized to determine the antagonists of the mediators involved in capsaicin induced vasodilatation.