Abstract Capsaicin is the major pungent component of hot peppers, which belong to the plant genus Capsicum. Although the biosynthesis of capsaicin is known to involve the condensation of vanillylamine and 8-methylnonenoic acid by capsaicin synthase, the mechanism of biosynthesis is still not fully understood. In this study, deuterium labelled versions of capsaicin and the precursor vanillylamine were synthesized in order to ...
