just thought i would share this new study, came out last week:
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.life-extension/browse_thr
Another cancer inhibited by chili pepper compound
In addition to the recently reported inhibitory effect of the red chili
pepper ingredient capsaicin on prostate cancer cell growth, the compound has
now been found to reduce the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. Pancreatic
cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and
one of the most aggressive types of the disease. The findings were presented
during the Late Breaking Session at the annual meeting of the American
Association for Cancer Research, held April 1 to 5 at the Washington
Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
Sanjay K. Srivastava, PhD, who is an assistant professor at the University
of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's department of pharmacology, and his
colleagues grafted pancreatic tumors into mice and fed them varying
concentrations of capsaicin three or five days per week. A control group of
mice received normal saline minus the compound. The team found that animals
who received capsaicin had higher levels of apoptosis-associated proteins,
and tumors that were half the size of those in the control group. It was
discovered that capsaicin disrupted the cancer cells' mitochondria--the
energy producing organelle's of the cell--which caused the release of
apoptotic proteins.
"In our study, we discovered that capsaicin fed orally to mice with human
pancreatic tumors was an extremely effective inhibitor of the cancer
process, inducing apoptosis in cancer cells," Dr Srivastava summarized.
"Capsaicin triggered the cancerous cells to die off and significantly
reduced the size of the tumors."
"Our results demonstrate that capsaicin is a potent anticancer agent,
induces apoptosis in cancer cells and produces no significant damage to
normal pancreatic cells, indicating its potential use as a novel agent for
the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer," he concluded.