Red Hot Chili Peppers

Hot Peppers

Red hot chili peppers just might be good for you. An article in the current issue of “Science Signaling” (Aug 10, 2010. Vol 3, Issue 134, p ec241) summarizes two articles and gives the details.

Capsaicin, in chili peppers, is what makes them taste hot. For several years it has been used in topical creams that are used to decrease pain from a variety of causes. The biochemical means of action is via a cation channel of a receptor group called TRPV1, which allows calcium ions to enter the cell. The authors of the current article found that the TRPV1 receptors were also found in the endothelial cells of blood vessels. They studied the activity in rats and found that exposure to capsaicin resulted in  an increase in the  “amount of phosphorylated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), protein kinase A (PKA) activity, and NO production.” They found that a 6 month long diet high in capsaicin triggerred a relaxation response in the arteries and that hypertensive rats were found to have lowered their blood pressure when they continued to have a diet high in capsaicin.

While they seem to  suggest that a diet high in capsaicin may reduce blood pressure in humans or at least that targeting the receptor TRPV1 for further research, I think a direct test for a diet hypothesis would be to take your blood pressure before and after munching on a chili pepper. I’ll bet you may see a bit of a rise, at least in the short term.

References:

D. Yang, Z. Luo, S. Ma, W. T. Wong, L. Ma, J. Zhong, H. He, Z. Zhao, T. Cao, Z. Yan, D. Liu, W. J. Arendshorst, Y. Huang. M. Tepel, Z. Zhu, Activation of TRPV1 by dietary capsaicin improves endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation and prevents hypertension.Cell Metab. 12, 130–141 (2010). [PubMed]

W. C. Sessa, A new way to lower blood pressure: Pass the chili peppers please! Cell Metab. 12, 109–110 (2010). [PubMed]

N. R. Gough, Spicy Diet to Reduce Hypertension. Sci. Signal. 3, ec241 (2010).