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Science Finding Medical Promise In Kitchen Cabinets By BRIE ZELTNER   Spices lend food wonderful flavors and also impart health benefits. (Photo by Sean Simmers)     [Cleveland, OH] -- In 1993, an eager biochemist at the University of Texas struggled to put the brakes on a protein he had discovered a few years earlier, a protein that can trigger cancers and inflammatory diseases.Bharat Aggarwal knew that the protein, tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, could cause a whole cascade of inflammation in the human body — a very bad thing. He also knew that turmeric, the yellow curry spice, was...

Contact: Gregory Harris gharris@ucalgary.ca 403-220-3506 University of Calgary Red hot chili pepper research spices up historical record Archaeologists trace domestication and dispersal of Capsicum species Next time you're shaking Tabasco sauce on your eggs or dried chili pepper flakes on your pizza, you might pause to thank the indigenous Latin American cultures of more than 6,100 years ago that made it possible. Three University of Calgary researchers, together with international colleagues, have traced the earliest known evidence for the domestication and spread of chili peppers by analysing starch microfossils recovered from grinding stones, sediments and charred ceramic cookware. In a...

UCLA-VA study names India dietary staple as potential Alzheimer's weapon Yellow pigment in curry spice blocks, breaks up brain plaques in mice A dietary staple of India, where Alzheimer's disease rates are reportedly among the world's lowest, holds potential as a weapon in the fight against the disease. The new UCLA-Veterans Affairs study involving genetically altered mice suggests that curcumin, the yellow pigment in curry spice, inhibits the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and also breaks up existing plaques. Reporting in the Dec. 7, 2004, online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the...

Paprika Recall Expanded Because of Possible Contamination The Associated Press Jun 11, 2004 WASHINGTON (AP) - Penzeys Spices has expanded its recall of Hungarian Sweet Paprika, sold nationwide, because of possible salmonella contamination. The Brookfield, Wis., company said Friday the recall involves all sizes of Hungarian Sweet Paprika distributed Jan. 2-9 through mail orders as well as in Penzeys Spices retail stores in 12 states: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The expanded recall comes weeks after Penzeys recalled packages of another paprika version, Hungarian Half-Sharp and some of its Hungarian Sweet Paprika,...