Health & Nutrition: Spicy Food could Combat Cancer

Vegetables such as broccoli and spices like red chili pepper could be used to combat cancer, researchers have said. Scientists believe the foods may have a cancer-fighting benefit by slowing or preventing the growth of cancerous tumor cells. Two studies, conducted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the U.S., looked at the effects of chili pepper and vegetables like broccoli and cabbage on cancer cells. The first study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, looked at the potential of capsaicin -the hot ingredient in red chili pepper to fight pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic Cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer with a low survival rate. The researchers treated human pancreatic cells with capsaicin in the lab. They found that it affected the activity in the cells that induced programmed cell death - apoptosis - in the cancerous cells without affecting normal pancreatic cells. Lead re-searcher Dr Sanjay Srivastava said: "Our results demonstrate that capsaicin is a potent anti-cancer agent, induces apoptosis in cancer cells and produces no significant damage to normal pancreatic cells, indicating its potential use as a novel chemo-therapeutic agent for pancreatic cancer." A second study looked at benefits of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) - a constituent of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage -in ovarian cancer. The scientists said this exposure led to significant inhibition of the protein expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which plays a crucial role in the growth of ovarian cancer cells. Source: www.dailymail.co.uk