[samelawrence]

Do our eyeballs have vanilloid receptors? Why does it irritate our eyes if the full effect comes from taste bud neurotransmitters? I think capsaicin must be doing some other work as an irritant beyond the specific receptor.

[mtlmtlmtlmtl]

TRPV1 is the receptor that mediates irritation. It's not actually a taste receptor. It's expressed all over the place, probably the eyes too. The fact it's also in the mouth and associated with spicy food leads to the common misconception that it's a taste receptor.