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Cayenne


1. 1/30/02 Cayenne (Capsicum annuum, Capsicum frutescens) Cayenne contains a resinous and pungent substance known as capsaicin. This chemical relieves pain and itching by acting on sensory nerves. Capsaicin temporarily stimulates release of various neurotransmitters from these nerves, leading to their depletion. Without the neurotransmitters, pain signals can no longer be sent
   
   
2. 5/10/02 Chemoprevention of azoxymethane-induced rat colon carcinogenesis by dietary capsaicin and rotenone. Int J Oncol 2001 Nov;19(5):929-39 PMID: 11604990 At the termination of the study, dietary exposure of capsaicin during the initiation phase was found to significantly reduce the incidence of colonic adenocarcinoma (60% vs. 24%, 60% reduction, P=0.0407). Rotenone feeding during the post-initiation phase also reduced the frequency of colonic adenocarcinoma (60% vs. 19%, 68% reduction, P=0.0226). Our results suggest that two natural compounds, capsaicin and rotenone, might be useful for the prevention of human colon cancers
   
   
3. 5/10/02 Capsaicin-induced apoptosis in SK-Hep-1 hepatocarcinoma cells involves Bcl-2 downregulation and caspase-3 activation Cancer Lett 2001 Apr 26;165(2):139-45 PMID: 11275362 Treatment of capsaicin inhibited growth of SK-Hep-1 cells in a concentration-dependent manner while 4-methoxy capsaicin (Met-capsaicin) was less potent. This inhibitory effect of capsaicin on SK-Hep-1 cell growth was mainly due to the induction of apoptosis as evidenced by DNA fragmentation and nuclear condensation. Furthermore, capsaicin prominently reduced the ratio of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 to pro-apoptotic Bax and consequently increased caspase-3 activity. These results demonstrate that capsaicin efficiently induced apoptosis in SK-Hep-1 cells through a caspase-3-dependent mechanism, which may contribute to its chemopreventive function
   
   
4. 5/10/02 Inhibitory effects of curcumin and capsaicin on phorbol ester-induced activation of eukaryotic transcription factors, NF-kappaB and AP-1. Biofactors 2000;12(1-4):107-12 PMID: 11216470 Curcumin and capsaicin, when topically applied prior to TPA, significantly attenuated TPA-induced activation of each transcription factor in mouse skin. Likewise, both compounds inhibited NF-kappaB and AP-1 activation in cultured human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells stimulated with TPA. Based on these findings, it is likely that curcumin and capsaicin exert anti-tumor promotional effects through suppression of the tumor promoter-induced activation of transcription factors, NF-kappaB and AP-1.
   
   
5. 5/10/02 Chemoprotective properties of some pungent ingredients present in red pepper and ginger. Mutat Res 1998 Jun 18;402(1-2):259-67 PMID: 9675305 Some pungent constituents present in ginger and other zingiberaceous plants have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and some of them exhibit anti-tumor promotional activity in experimental carcinogenesis.
   
   
6. 5/10/02 Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is a potent inhibitor of nuclear transcription factor-kappa B activation by diverse agents J Immunol 1996 Nov 15;157(10):4412-20 PMID: 8906816 Capsaicin treatment of cells also blocked the degradation of I kappa B alpha, and thus the nuclear translocation of the p65 subunit of NF-kappa B, which is essential for NF-kappa B activation. TNF-dependent promoter activity of I kappa B alpha, which contains NF-kappa B binding sites, was also inhibited by capsaicin. Overall our results indicate that capsaicin and its analogue inhibit NF-kappa B activation, and thus could be used as a potential target for drug development.
   
   
7. 5/10/02 Capsaicin, a double-edged sword: toxicity, metabolism, and chemopreventive potential. Life Sci 1995;56(22):1845-55 PMID: 7746093 Capsaicin appears to interact with xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes, particularly microsomal cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenases which are involved in activation as well as detoxification of various chemical carcinogens and mutagens. Recent studies have shown that hepatic cytochrome P450 2E1 catalyzes the conversion of capsaicin to reactive species such as the phenoxy radical intermediate capable of covalently binding to the active site of the enzyme as well as tissue macromolecules. While covalent modification of protein and nucleic acids leads to toxicity including necrosis, mutagenesis, and carcinogenesis, suicidal inhibition of microsomal cytochrome P450 may prohibit further activation of capsaicin and also of other toxic xenobiotics. Results from recent studies indicate that capsaicin possesses the chemoprotective activity against some chemical carcinogens and mutagens.
   
   

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