Anti-Cancer, Anti-Inflammatory, Antibacterial and Analgesic Effects of Chili Pepper

Most TCM doctors probably put spicy foods on the forbidden list for cancer patients, and I have often done so myself.

Does that mean all cancer patients cannot eat chili? Not necessarily. Some cancer patients who eat chili suffer no harm at all; on the contrary, it may help fight cancer, because chili itself has anti-cancer activity—especially for patients with gastric, intestinal or small-cell lung cancer, its effects are not to be underestimated.

But not everyone can eat chili. A sizable proportion of the population is allergic to capsaicin; for them, eating chili causes oral and gastric mucosal ulcers, all sorts of skin bumps, constipation, bloody stools and hemorrhoid flare-ups. Such people should not eat much chili. Moreover, the irritant effect of chili can indeed promote progression in tumor patients who, by TCM pattern differentiation, present with heat or yang syndromes.

TCM also uses chili as medicine. Traditional TCM holds chili to be acrid and hot, entering the Spleen, Stomach and Large Intestine channels. It warms the middle and disperses cold, descends qi and promotes digestion; it is indicated for epigastric distending pain and stomach cold with qi stagnation.

People in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and the two Hu provinces are fond of chili, which relates to the heavy dampness in these regions. Dampness causes indigestion and tends to produce epigastric distending pain, so moderate chili helps people there digest their food. This dietary habit has a scientific basis, because capsaicin inhibits the major bacteria and fungi in food, such as E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. These bacteria are the culprits behind many intestinal diseases, and they are more likely to be present in food in humid climates.

Capsaicin and capsochrome in chili inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in cancer cells of lung, colorectal, breast, skin, liver, myeloid leukemia, pancreatic and cervical cancer. Capsaicin's anti-cancer mechanism has two arms: it directly accelerates cancer-cell apoptosis, and it lowers the concentration of anti-apoptotic substances in the body.

Chili also has good analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. The carotenoids and capsol in chili have strong antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori and can reverse H. pylori multidrug resistance. Capsaicin can also be used for postherpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuralgia and psoriasis, and can prevent aspiration pneumonia in the elderly. Formulated as an ointment for external use, chili's active ingredients relieve pain and kill germs; capsaicin ointment is a dedicated analgesic.

Most external plasters sold for rheumatic pain also contain capsaicin, which is why patients feel a burning sensation on the skin when they first apply them. But this side effect generally does not last long; after two or three days, the sensation is gone.

Capsaicin ointment also has bactericidal activity, with strong fungicidal action against Candida albicans and its variants, and a clear inhibitory effect on Torulopsis. So capsaicin ointment can also treat skin conditions such as psoriasis and acne.

Chili's side effects are also obvious. The Gang Mu Shi Yi says of chili: "Eating it stirs wind and moves fire, harms the eyes, and brings out sores. All those with blood deficiency and fire should avoid it." The Yao Xing Kao also holds that chili: "eating too much causes dizziness, because it stirs fire; long-term use brings on hemorrhoids, toothache and swollen throat." The National Chinese Herbal Medicine Compendium notes: "Contraindicated in patients with gastric or duodenal ulcers, acute gastritis, pulmonary tuberculosis, or hemorrhoids."

In TCM external medicine, cancer-type swellings are broadly classified as yang or yin syndromes. Yang-syndrome patients must avoid hot herbs and hot foods; yin-syndrome patients may moderately eat hot foods. Chili is a hot food, so yang-syndrome tumor patients should avoid it, while yin-syndrome tumor patients may use it moderately as an anti-cancer dietary therapy.