Cancer Commentary - Caring About Cancer

That Kick in Spicy Foods (Capsaicin) Kick Tumor Cells’ Energy Source

by Gloria Gamat on January 16th, 2007

According to new research from The University of Nottingham, the chemical compound called capsaicin (responsible for the burning sensation we get from eating chilies) could potentially lead to the next generation of anti-cancer drugs that will kill tumors with less or no side effects.

For the first time, a new study published online in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications has proven that capsaicin can kill tumor cells by directly targeting their energy source.

The Nottingham study has shown that the family of compounds to which capsaicin belongs, vanilloids, can kill cancer by attacking the mitochondria of the tumour cell, commonly known as its ‘powerhouse’, which produces ATP, the major energy-containing chemical in the body.

By binding proteins in the cancer cell mitochondria the compound triggers apoptosis, or natural cell death, without harming the healthy surrounding cells.

The compound has already been laboratory-tested in human lung cancer and pancreatic cancer cells with startling positive results.

This could only mean one thing: patients could control the onset of cancer by eating a capsaicin-rich diet. Besides, capsaicin is safe to eat and have always been part of the human diet.

According to Dr Timothy Bates, the study’s leader, a member of the Medical Research Council (MRC) College of Experts and an internationally-renowned researcher in the areas of mitochondrial research and anti-cancer drug development:

“This is incredibly exciting and may explain why people living in countries like Mexico and India, who traditionally eat a diet which is very spicy, tend to have lower incidences of many cancers that are prevalent in the western world.”

Westerners should stop being bland in their food and go spicy instead, don’t you think?

Find more details from the press release at The University of Nottingham.

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