Red Chili Pepper and Ginger Join the Ranks in Preventing and Treating Cancer

Hindustan Times, India

First it was turmeric, now the red chili pepper and ginger are being targeted for their medicinal properties in preventing and treating cancer. Dr. Sanjay Srivastava has lead the study at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine on the chilli pepper. The news release explained, "The findings on chili pepper are based on studies in mice which were grafted with human pancreatic tumors. The study found that capsicum, the compound that makes chili pepper hot, caused cancerous cells in pancreas to die through a process called apoptosis - the body's normal way of disposing of damaged or unwanted cells. However, it did not affect healthy cells." Srivastava added, "Capsicum triggered cancerous cells to die and significantly reduced the size of tumors.”

The study at the University of Michigan was completed on ginger by Dr. Rebecca Liu. The article said, "In what was the first successful step to test the idea, dissolved ginger powder was added to ovarian cancer cells in a lab dish. According to researchers, the rate at which ginger killed cancer cells was similar to or better than that of platinum-based chemotherapy drugs." Both studies were presented in papers at the American Association of Cancer Research in Washington during the association's annual meeting.