1. The potassium current in embryo spinal neurones of Xenopus consists of at least two kinetically distinct components with overlapping voltage-dependencies of activation. We investigated whether capsaicin might specifically block these components in acutely dissociated neurones from stage 37/38 embryos by use of standard patch clamp techniques. 2. Capsaicin caused a time-dependent block of both the slow and fast components of the potassium current. The concentration-dependence was described by the Hill equation with a KD of 21 microM and a coefficient of 1.5 (n = 9-11 at each concentration). Differences between the observed and fitted values were not significant at the 5% level (chi(2) = 2.80, 6 degrees of freedom). 3. Capsaicin did not affect the time course or voltage-sensitivity of activation, but the steady-state block was voltage-dependent. The block could be relieved by hyperpolarization, and the rate of the removal of block was voltage- and time-dependent. The time constant for the blocking reaction was also voltage-dependent for voltage steps below +30 mV, but above this level it was voltage-independent. These results suggest that capsaicin blocks potassium channels by an open channel mechanism. 4. Other derivatives of vanillin, such as capsazepine, resiniferatoxin, and piperine also blocked potassium channels. Capsazepine and resiniferatoxin caused a greater block than similar concentrations of capsaicin, and in the case of capsazepine, the block was also clearly time-dependent. 5. Capsaicin and capsazepine also blocked calcium currents in a time-dependent manner. Fitting the Hill equation to the averaged data gave a KD of 43.5 microM, and a coefficient of 1.35 (n = 11 at each concentration). The fitted values were not significantly different from the observed means at the 5% level (chi(2) = 12.1, 6 degrees of freedom). 6. Six out of 29 Rohon-Beard sensory neurones responded to capsaicin with an inward current that appeared to be similar to the capsaicin activation of mammalian C sensory neurones. This response saturated at 10 microM capsaicin.