For all that ails you.
Posted on 03/16/2006 3:38:16 AM PST by S0122017
Chillies turn up the heat on tumours 13:22 15 March 2006 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi
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The same component of jalapeño peppers that makes them burn the tongue also appears to kill prostate cancer cells. Prostate tumours in mice treated with the compound, called capsaicin, shrank to one-fifth the size of those in non-treated mice, found a new study.
To explore capsaicin’s effect, Phillip Koeffler of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, US, and colleagues exposed human prostate cancer cells in a laboratory dish to the natural compound. They found that capsaicin dramatically slowed the proliferation of the cells in the dish.
And this effect increased as the dose of the chilli compound was raised. Three per cent of prostate cancer cells committed “suicide” – programmed cell death – at low concentrations, rising to up to 75% of tumour cells dying at a higher dose.
Koeffler says this is the first experimental evidence supporting the notion that capsaicin stops the growth of prostate cancer cells.
Human cancer He believes that capsaicin jump starts a pathway that triggers cell death. Molecular tests suggest that it achieves this by causing a cascade of events inside the cell that lead to the release of a protein complex called NF-kappa Beta, which subsequently causes the cell to self-destruct. This is crucial since cancer is characterised by the uncontrolled growth of cells.
The team also found that capsaicin suppressed the growth of human prostate cancer cells by about 80%. These cells were grafted into mice with suppressed immune systems.
But Koeffler says that men concerned about prostate cancer should not interpret these findings as a reason to up their consumption of hot peppers. He stresses that the compound has not been shown to prevent prostate cancer but instead simply slows its growth. And he adds that he hopes to see human trials in the next two years assessing capsaicin’s effect on prostate cancer.
Take a chilli pill After prostate cancer is surgically removed, it tends to reappear in about a quarter of patients, the researchers note. For this reason, they say that capsaicin may be most effective in slowing cancer’s return instead of stopping it from first developing.
He adds that one also must take dosages into consideration. A 200-pound (90-kilogram) person would have to eat about 10 fresh habañera peppers – one of the hottest chillies around – per week to consume an amount of capsaicin equivalent to the levels received by Koeffler’s mice.
A habañera typically contains 300,000 Scoville units – a scale used to measure the hotness of chillis – making them positively scorching to the mouth in comparison with the more popular jalapeños, which contain roughly 2500 to 5000 Scoville units. For this reason, he says it is unreasonable to imagine anyone eating fresh peppers to prevent the return of prostate cancer: “You would have to take it in pill form.”
Journal reference: Cancer Research (DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-0087)
human health ping
Is it OK if I just continue to eat Datil peppers, or do I need to sit on a bunch of them?
***
SO WHY NOT eat them any way??
I eat those things at least twice a day. I swear that they are good for many things.
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SWAMPSNIPER ....... that might be a little uncomfortable.
;-)
Why is it I just can't get the picture of a Habanero suppository out of my mind? Ai chihuahua!!
I was chopping some to make relish, had a hole in one of my rubber gloves, took the gloves off to use the bathroom, should have washed my hands FIRST!
After 60 years of Datils, nothing else will do, however, a hybrid of a Datil and a Bell pepper is about perfect for a salad.
;-)
and besides, it will keep the septic tank thawed
It's 'prostate', not 'prostrate' (for future reference).
They don't just burn on the way in...
Chile is a pepper.
Chili is a food made with, among other things, chile.
"Chillies" sound like refrigerated underwear for men with low sperm counts. :D
It ain't my title. I just copy-pasted.
Science reporters always use the stupidest titles, like "kha-nyou smell a rat" when they discover a rodent named kha-nyou, or "saved by 'sand' poured into the wounds" when discussing a new bloodclotter that is sand-like in appearance. They seem to think they are funny, but it is just detrimental to true science.
Datils are a local strain of Habenero, same fire, different taste. Try cross pollinating Bell to Habenero, I'll bet it is good.
I already know you didn't do it; I checked the article at the website.
It's "chilli" everywhere you look.
fyi
For all that ails you.
I eat peppers everyday! I'm Cured!.........
Chile is a country........and more than one (Chiles) was our former (late) governor and Senator...........
Hand out free condoms with capsaicin extract!
Aint that a laugh?
Hard boiled eggs and pickled habaneros shortly before a flight will keep that liberal next to you on the plane off of the arm rest and leaning away. It is a toxic defense cloud... ; ^)
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