We studied the effect of the locally administered glucocorticoid budesonide on plasma extravasation induced by capsaicin and by substance P (SP) in the nasal mucosa of pathogen-free rats. Using Evans blue dye as a tracer, we measured plasma extravasation induced by capsaicin (150 micrograms kg-1 i.v.) or SP (0.5 and 2.5 micrograms kg-1 i.v.) in the rat naso- and maxilloturbinates after pretreatment with budesonide (0.1-50 micrograms twice/day for 2 days in the right nostril; 50 micrograms only for SP) or its vehicle. We found that budesonide inhibits plasma extravasation induced by capsaicin in a dose-dependent fashion in the nasal cavity. After the highest dose (50 micrograms) of budesonide, the values of Evans blue in the nasal mucosa were not different from the values observed after capsaicin vehicle alone. Budesonide also reduced plasma extravasation induced by capsaicin in the trachea and the urinary bladder of the rats in a dose-dependent fashion. Budesonide (50 micrograms) delivered to the nose inhibited the plasma extravasation caused by 0.5 but not by 2.5 micrograms SP kg-1 in the nasal mucosa. We conclude that the postjunctional part of the neurogenic pathway is a target for glucocorticoid antiinflammatory action in the nasal mucosa, at least of the rat. Budesonide's effect on organs other than the nose can be explained by systemic absorption.