This
article featured in the BBC News Website
Tuesday, 9 January 2007
How
spicy foods can kill cancers
Scientists
have discovered the key to the ability of spicy foods to kill
cancer cells.
They found capsaicin, an ingredient of jalapeno
peppers, triggers cancer cell death by attacking mitochondria
- the cells' energy-generating boiler rooms.
The research raises the possibility that other
cancer drugs could be developed to target mitochondria.
The Nottingham University study features in
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.
The study showed that the family of molecules
to which capsaicin belongs, the vanilloids, bind to proteins in
the cancer cell mitochondria to trigger apoptosis, or cell death,
without harming surrounding healthy cells.
Capsaicin was tested on cultures of human lung
cancer cells and on pancreatic cancers.
Lead researcher Dr Timothy Bates said: "As
these compounds attack the very heart of the tumour cells, we
believe that we have in effect discovered a fundamental 'Achilles
heel' for all cancers.
"The biochemistry of the mitochondria in
cancer cells is very different from that in normal cells.
"This is an innate selective vulnerability
of cancer cells."
He said a dose of capsaicin that could cause
a cancer cell to enter apoptosis, would not have the same effect
on a normal cell.
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Potential
Drugs
The fact that capsaicin and other vanilloids
are already commonly found in the diet proves they are safe to
eat.
This could make development of a drug containing
them a much quicker and cheaper process.
Dr Bates said: "Capsaicin, for example,
is already found in treatments for muscle strain and psoriasis
- which raises the question of whether an adapted topical treatment
could be used to treat certain types of skin cancer.
"It's also possible that cancer patients
or those at risk of developing cancer could be advised to eat
a diet which is richer in spicy foods to help treat or prevent
the disease."
However, Josephine Querido, cancer information
officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "This research does
not suggest that eating vast quantities of chilli pepper will
help prevent or treat cancer.
"The experiments showed that pepper extracts
killed cancer cells grown in the laboratory, but these have not
yet been tested to see if they are safe and effective in humans."
Cancer Research UK recommends reducing the risk
of cancer by eating a healthy, balanced diet, with plenty of vegetables
and fruit.
Dr Bates added that the mitochondria in cancer
cells could also be targeted by other compounds.
He said the investigation and development of
anti-mitochondrial drugs for cancer chemotherapy was likely to
be "extremely significant" in the fight against cancer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/6244715.stm |
