Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: TRP , TRPA , TRPA1

Title: Some like it pungent and vile. TRPA1 as a molecular target for the malodorous vinyl disulfides from asafoetida.

Authors: Yalda Shokoohinia, Giuseppina Chianese, Giovanni Appendino, Vincenzo Di Marzo, Luciano De Petrocellis, Alireza Ghannadi, Roshanak Taghvayi, Khadijeh Fattahian, Reza Soltani, Orazio Taglialatela-Scafati

Journal, date & volume: Fitoterapia, 2013 Oct , 90, 247-51

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23954176

Abstract
Ferula assa-foetida L. is a major source of asafoetida, a foul-smelling gum-resin of dietary and medicinal relevance. Investigation of the roots and latex of F. assa-foetida yielded various mixed vinyl disulfides, including two novel asadisulfide-type esters. The reactivity of asadisulfide was investigated in the cysteamine NMR assay, where it behaved as disulfide shuffling agents due to the high mobility of the vinyl sulfide moiety. In accordance with their transthiolation capacity, these compounds potently activated TRPA1, the target of mustard oil and the pungent sulfur compounds from onion and garlic, qualifying S-alkyl-S-alkenyldisulfides, a rare class of natural products, as a novel class of dietary TRPA1 activators. These observations provide a mechanistic basis for rationalizing some of the sensory properties and potential beneficial health claims associated to the use of asafoetida as a spice and as a medicine.