How sprinkling chilli on your food could help fight cancer: Compound that adds heat 'lodges to the surface of diseased cells and tears them apart'

  • Capsaicin is the compound which gives chilli peppers their heat and spice
  • A decade ago it was discovered it could help kill prostate cancer cells
  • Now scientists found it lodges to cancer cells' membrane and tears it apart
  • They hope the finding will pave the way for new new drugs to treat the disease

By Madlen Davies for MailOnline

Published: 08:08 EST, 14 September 2015 | Updated: 09:00 EST, 14 September 2015

Scientists have discovered how a compound found in chilli peppers can kill prostate cancer cells. 

A study found capsaicin - the compound that gives the peppers their heat - binds to the cells' membranes - it's protective outer shell.

In a high enough doses, the capsaicin pulls the membrane apart, triggering the cell to 'commit suicide', they found.

Finding out how the compound works could help experts harness it's power and transform it into an effective pill or injection to treat prostate cancer.

Capsaicin - the compound that gives the peppers their heat - binds to prostate cancer cells' membranes - the protective outer layer of the cell - and tears it apart, researchers found

Capsaicin - the compound that gives the peppers their heat - binds to prostate cancer cells' membranes - the protective outer layer of the cell - and tears it apart, researchers found

Worldwide, more than 1.1 million cases of prostate cancer were recorded in 2012, according to the World Cancer Research Fund.

It accounted for around eight per cent of all new cancer cases and 15 per cent of new cases for men.

Around 10 years ago it was discovered that capsaicin triggers prostate cancer cells to commit suicide.

A study published in Cancer Research, found the compound reduced the size of tumours by a fifth, in mice who had been genetically modified to have human prostate cancer cells.

It caused 80 per cent of cancer cells to start the process leading to cell death, and had no side effects.

However, trying to translate the dose to humans would require them to eat a huge number of chilli peppers each day.

The finding prompted Dr Ashok Mishra and Dr Jitendriya Swain, of the Indian Institute of Technology to find out how capsaicin helps kill cancer cells, so it might be harnessed in the future for new medicines.

They found the molecule binds to a cell's surface and affects it's membrane, the layer which surrounds and protects the cell.

It lodges in near the surface of the cell's membranes near the surface, and if enough of it is added, the capsaicin causes the membranes to tear and come apart.

Worldwide, more than 1.1 million cases of prostate cancer (pictured under the microscope) were recorded in 2012, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. It accounted for eight per cent of all new cancer cases

Worldwide, more than 1.1 million cases of prostate cancer (pictured under the microscope) were recorded in 2012, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. It accounted for eight per cent of all new cancer cases

This eventually triggers the death of the cell.

With additional research, this insight could help lead to new tools to be developed to fight cancer or other conditions, the researchers said. 

The study was published in the American Chemical Society's The Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

The news follows a study published last year which found eating chilli could also reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer.

Researchers gave capsaicin to mice genetically prone to developing multiple tumours in their gastrointestinal tract.

It triggered a pain receptor in the cells lining their intestines, setting off a reaction that reduced the risk of growing colorectal tumours.

Scientists publishing their work in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found the treatment extended the lifespan of the mice by more than 30 per cent.

 

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