Chili peppers and capsaicinWhen we talk about or study whether chili peppers are carcinogenic or anticarcinogenic, we are actually talking about the active ingredient in chili peppers, capsaicin, in relation to cancer. Capsaicin, a vanillamide-containing alkaloid that gives chili peppers their pungent flavor, binds to vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1) in sensory neurons (this receptor is also activated when the organism is heat-stimulated) and promotes the release of the neurotransmitter Substance P, which transmits information to the brain, giving us the burning sensation when we eat chili peppers. This process also promotes the release of endorphins in the brain, which gives us a feeling of euphoria, which is why we feel so good and irresistible when we're huffing and puffing from the heat.
Capsaicin and cancer of the tangled
Cancer: 1994 "American Journal of Epidemiology" (American Journal of Epidemiology) reported a group of Mexican researchers and 1989-1990 in Mexico City during the years made "case - survey "The statistical results showed that people who ate red chili peppers had a higher risk of stomach cancer than those who did not [1]. The same group of researchers did the same case-survey study in three regions of Mexico during 1994-1996, and this time they measured the capsaicin content of different peppers and concluded that the risk of gastric cancer was higher in the group with a low-dose capsaicin intake (0-29.9 mg of capsaicin per day, which is equivalent to about 1,000 mg of chili peppers per day) than in the group with a low-dose capsaicin intake (0-29.9 mg of chili peppers per day, which is equivalent to about 1,000 mg of capsaicin per day). This time they measured the capsaicin content of different chili peppers and concluded that there was an increased risk of gastric cancer in the high-dose capsaicin intake group (90-250 mg of capsaicin per day, which is about 9-25 jalape?os per day) compared to the low-dose capsaicin intake group (0-29.9 mg of capsaicin per day, which is about less than 3 jalape?os per day) [2]. However, both papers used the words "possible" and "correlates" rigorously when talking about the relationship between chili peppers and gastric cancer, without explicitly concluding that chili peppers are carcinogenic. Nuray Erin) and others confirmed that capsaicin causes a decrease in the expression of some genes in breast cancer cells, and all of these genes are related to cell growth, proliferation, and cancer progression, so they concluded that capsaicin enhances the spread of breast cancer cells by decreasing the expression of genes involved in apoptosis in murine breast cancer cells [3].In 2010, scientists in South Korea turned everyone's attention back to the association between chili peppers and skin cancer. Their research results were published in the well-known U.S. academic journal "Cancer Research" (Cancer Research). However, they concluded that capsaicin is only a co-carcinogen (which does not have carcinogenic effect by itself, but only promotes the carcinogenic effect of carcinogens when acting with carcinogens***), and plays a role in promoting 12-oxo-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in inducing skin cancer [4].
Cancer: Although the two epidemiological studies mentioned above do not clearly show that eating more chili peppers can lead to gastric cancer, they may have begun to make every meal without chili peppers eaters worried: chili peppers irritate the gastrointestinal tract so much, it should be carcinogenic, right? In fact, there is another side to the research on capsaicin and gastrointestinal cancers, with cellular experiments showing that gastric cancer cells are more susceptible to capsaicin-induced apoptosis than normal cells [5], and capsaicin also induces apoptosis in human colon cancer cells [6]. In addition, we are always advised to eat less spicy things, especially when the gastrointestinal function is not good to avoid spicy, but some studies have shown that capsaicin can protect the gastric mucosa, and can be used to treat gastric ulcers by inhibiting the secretion of gastric acid and increasing the blood flow of the gastric mucosa [7].In 2008, the famous American academic journal Apoptosis published a study on the association between capsaicin and "king of cancers" - pancreatic cancer research. The researchers found that capsaicin was able to cause apoptosis in human pancreatic cancer cells cultured in vitro and had no effect on normal pancreatic cells [8]. Then they did in vivo experiments on rats: rats transplanted with human pancreatic tumors were fed capsaicin (2.5 mg/kg body weight, 5 times per week; or 5 mg/kg body weight, 3 times per week). Capsaicin was found to inhibit the growth of pancreatic tumors, and no side effects were observed. A study on capsaicin and prostate cancer by a research group at California State University had essentially the same design and feeding dose as this experiment, and also yielded similar results [9]. In addition, in recent years, capsaicin has also been reported to induce apoptosis in cancer cells such as murine bladder cancer cells and human liver cancer cells [10][11].
Does it cause or cure cancer? The question of whether chili peppers can treat cancer or cause cancer has been debated in the scientific community, and researchers have not only not been able to reach a clear conclusion on the relationship between capsaicin and cancer, but even the role of the same cancer, there is also controversy, take prostate cancer for example, there are studies that say that capsaicin can induce apoptosis and inhibit the growth of xenografted prostate tumors in prostate cancer cells [9], but there are also studies that show that capsaicin can promote the growth of prostate tumors. results suggest that capsaicin promotes the proliferation of prostate cancer cells [12]. This tangled relationship between capsaicin and cancer needs more research to clarify. One thing that needs to be made clear is that these studies on the carcinogenicity or anticarcinogenicity of capsaicin, whether or not they come up with the results we expect, capsaicin's promotion of the growth of cancer cells or induction of apoptosis in cancer cells does not equate to the fact that the chili peppers that we eat in our mouths cause or cure cancer. Because, firstly, although the results of cellular and animal experiments can provide ideas and basis for further clinical experiments, there is still a big gap between them and clinical experiments, and the results of animal experiments may not necessarily be reflected in human beings, and its other effects on human beings as well as dosage and usage also need to be solved; secondly, there are many kinds of other substances in chili peppers, and whether capsaicinoids contained in chili peppers can be produced and purified by eating chili peppers is not the same as that of capsaicin, but it is not the same as that of capsaicin. Secondly, there are many other substances in chili peppers, and it is not known whether the capsaicin contained in ingested chili peppers produces the same effect as pure capsaicin, and there is a lack of kinetic studies on capsaicin after it enters the human body. Conclusion: The scientific community has not reached a unified conclusion as to whether capsaicin can cause or cure cancer or assist in causing cancer, and the results of these cell or animal experiments cannot be directly equated with clinical experiments, so we cannot conclude that eating chili peppers on a regular basis will lead to cancer or cure cancer. Therefore, there is no need to refuse or eat more chili peppers because of these studies.