Polygodial is chemical compound found in dorrigo pepper, mountain pepper, horopito, canelo, paracress, water-pepper, and Dendrodoris limbata.

[1][2][3][4][5] Chemically it is a drimane-type sesquiterpene dialdehyde of formula C15H22O2.

The compound activates the TRPA1 pain receptor in nerve endings in the mouth that mediate the sensation of pungency.

[16][17][18] Polygodial’s primary antifungal action is as a nonionic surfactant, disrupting the lipid-protein interface of integral proteins nonspecifically, denaturing their functional conformation.

It is also likely that polygodial permeates by passive diffusion across the plasma membrane, and once inside the cells may react with a variety of intracellular compounds.