Cayenne pepper?

[washable_orbit]

I know I’ve seen talks on here before regarding black pepper and how they are considered irritants and shouldn’t be consumed (I’ll admit that I don’t spend enough time on the Diet and Health side of the forum). Does cayenne pepper fall into this category?

I remember seeing a video a while ago that spoke on the benefits of cayenne pepper and how it does the opposite of spices such as black pepper. As someone who acquired a taste for “spicy” food as an adult (and with a stomach who never signed up for such abuse), this has been on my mind ever since.

As much as I love the taste of chili crisp oil, I decided to limit my ‘spicy’ to cayenne pepper and the difference is night and day. The taste is very different and definitely doesn’t compare, but the cayenne doesn’t seem to have the same negative side effects on my body.

According to this article on clevelandclinic . org, this spice has a lot of health benefits. I will summarize those below.

What is cayenne pepper?​

Officially known as Capsicum annum, these pungent peppers are members of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, along with their distant cousins, potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes.

Is cayenne pepper healthy?​

[…] they are rich in:

• Vitamin C.
• Vitamin A.
• Vitamin B6.
• Vitamin K.

One fresh pepper has 72% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C and 50% of vitamin A,” Supan says.
[…] dried cayenne powder is a good source of vitamin A, she adds. “In just one teaspoon, you’ll get 15% of your daily vitamin A.”

Cayenne pepper benefits​

Many of their benefits come from capsaicin, the natural compound that gives all peppers their spicy kick.

1. Provides beneficial plant compounds​

Antioxidants, along with related compounds like flavonoids and carotenoids, are compounds naturally found in plants.
These compounds protect our cells against damage from harmful substances in the environment. “They fight the processes that age our cells to help keep our cells young,” Supan explains.
[…] In one study, researchers compared antioxidant levels in 20 different hot peppers. Cayenne peppers came out on top.

2. Protects your heart​

There’s evidence, for instance, that capsaicin can protect against inflammation in your body. “Cayenne peppers can keep blood vessels healthy and may help lower blood pressure,” Supan adds.

3. Improves digestion​

“Cayenne pepper is really helpful for digestion,” Supan explains. “It increases gastric juices and enzyme production in the stomach, which helps us break down food.”
Capsaicin may help promote a healthy microbiome.

4. Maintain a healthy weight​

Spicy foods can rev up the metabolism a bit […]

5. Ease pain and clear congestion​

“[…] spicy foods can help clear the congestion,” Supan says.
“Cayenne peppers have also been shown to help relieve headaches,” she says.
Capsaicin is also used in topical form to treat pain. Creams made from the potent spice can be rubbed on your skin to treat arthritis pain.

This article feels like a silly celebrity interview, but I would love to know your thoughts and/or experience.

 

[SevenFeathers]

I've read some great articles about the benefits of cayenne. Sorry, don't have any links right now. But I do take cayenne capsules for the heart benefits. And I have used loose cayenne to stop bleeding. I like it as a spice, too, enjoy the hot taste.

 

[washable_orbit]

I've read some great articles about the benefits of cayenne. Sorry, don't have any links right now. But I do take cayenne capsules for the heart benefits. And I have used loose cayenne to stop bleeding. I like it as a spice, too, enjoy the hot taste.

Oh, this confirmation is really good news! I will be learning more about it, thank you.

Interesting to know that it can be used for bleeding. Doesn’t it sting?

 

[SevenFeathers]

Interesting to know that it can be used for bleeding. Doesn’t it sting?

I think it did sting a little.

I remembered one site which is useful for research and testimonials for natural remedies. It's earthclinic.com. Here's the link where people talk about using the cayenne for wounds that wouldn't stop bleeding. Cayenne Pepper Health Benefits: Unlocking Capsaicin's Power

Happy reading!

 

[HyperdimensionalApe]

Effects of Capsaicin on Microbial Biofilms

Capsaicin (at MIC) significantly reduced the mature biofilm of C. albicans by 70 to 89% (p < 0.01). The ergosterol content of the cell wall decreased significantly with the increase in the Capsaicin dose (p < 0.01). Capsaicin showed high sensitivity against the hyphae formation and demonstrated a more than 71% reduction in mature biofilm. A fluorescence microscopy revealed the membrane disruption of Capsaicin-treated C. albicans cells, whereas a micrograph of electron microscopy showed the distorted cells’ shape, ruptured cell walls, and shrinkage of cells after the release of intracellular content. The results conclude that Capsaicin had a potential antifungal activity that inhibits the ergosterol biosynthesis in the cell wall, and therefore, the cells’ structure and integrity were disrupted. - Anticandidal Activity of Capsaicin and Its Effect on Ergosterol Biosynthesis and Membrane Integrity of Candida albicans

Effect of Capsaicin (MIC) on the hyphae growth of C. albicans (Endo-902). The live cells photograph was recorded by the cell observer microscope (20×). The photograph of untreated cells (1a–1d) and treated cells (2a–2d) were recorded at three-hour time points, respectively.

Scanning electron micrograph of C. albicans cells with and without treatment with Capsaicin (MIC). Attachments of Candida cells (Endo-902 (A), Endo-903 (B), and Endo-904 (C)) with teeth pulp in without treatment condition are shown in left panel, whereas with treatment condition (Endo-902 (D), Endo-903 (E) and Endo-904 (F)) are shown in right panel.

This is the first report that demonstrated the high antibiofilm potential of the extract obtained from red pepper C. baccatum against clinically relevant bacteria. The antibiofilm activity was evidenced to the aqueous extract from seeds (RAqS), decreasing 80% and 60% S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa biofilm formation, respectively, at the concentration of 4.0 mg/mL (Fig. 1). These findings were confirmed by SEM images. - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0926669018308744

G-I) Untreated biofilm of P. aeruginosa PA14; J–L) RAqS-treated biofilm (4 mg/mL) of P. aeruginosa PA14. Scale bars: 500x, 5,000x and 10,000x magnification.

The results of this study are unprecedented and encouraging. We have shown that the extracts from C. chinense Jacq. and capsaicin display antifungal action. In addition, they can significantly inhibit the production of virulence factors (such as biofilm formation and hemolytic activity) that are important for the onset and maintenance of invasive candidiasis by C. glabrata and C. tropicalis thereby indicating their antivirulence potential. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the antiparasitic potential of capsaicin at concentrations that are not toxic to host cells, which attests to the selectivity of this compound toward Candida spp. and T. gondii. The ability of the extracts and capsaicin to eradicate the C. glabrata (ATCC 2001) and C. tropicalis (CI) biofilms varied. The samples effectively reduced the cell viability of the preformed C. tropicalis (CI) biofilm. The best samples were CPS and PSEE, which gave MBEC50 of 187.5 µg/mL and provided 80% biofilm eradication at the highest concentrations (3000 µg/mL). Except for PPHE, all the samples at the highest tested concentrations destroyed over 80% of the preformed C. tropicalis (CI) biofilm. - Antimicrobial, Antivirulence, and Antiparasitic Potential of Capsicum chinense Jacq. Extracts and Their Isolated Compound Capsaicin