Pepper reduces growth of prostate cancer cells
The same component in peppers that makes them burn the tongue also appears to kill prostate cancer cells.
The same component in peppers that makes them burn the tongue also appears to kill prostate cancer cells. According to a new study, prostate tumours in mice treated with the compound, called capsaicin, shrank to one-fifth the size of those in non-treated mice.
To explore capsaicin’s effect, Phillip Koeffler of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre 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 percent 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.
Molecular tests suggest that it achieves this by causing a cascade of events inside the cell that inhibits the release of a protein complex called NF-kappa B, 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 increase 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.
In about a quarter of patients, after prostate cancer is surgically removed, it tends to. For this reason, researchers 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 90kg person would have to eat about 10 fresh peppers per week to consume an amount of capsaicin equivalent to the levels received by Koeffler’s mice. Since pepper is bitter, some people may want to take it in pill form.
New Scientist
To explore capsaicin’s effect, Phillip Koeffler of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre 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 percent 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.
Molecular tests suggest that it achieves this by causing a cascade of events inside the cell that inhibits the release of a protein complex called NF-kappa B, 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 increase 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.
In about a quarter of patients, after prostate cancer is surgically removed, it tends to. For this reason, researchers 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 90kg person would have to eat about 10 fresh peppers per week to consume an amount of capsaicin equivalent to the levels received by Koeffler’s mice. Since pepper is bitter, some people may want to take it in pill form.
New Scientist