Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonemide) is the major pungent principle found in hot peppers of the plant genus Capsicum. The present work was undertaken to investigate the antioxidative property of capsaicin on markers of oxidative stress; membrane lipid peroxidation (formation of malondialdehyde) and membrane carbonyl groups in human erythrocytes. The effect of capsaicin has been compared with l-ascorbic acid. Subjecting erythrocytes to oxidative stress by incubating them with t-BHP caused a significant increase in MDA level and protein carbonyl group content above the basal value. The presence of capsaicin (10 microm) in the incubation medium protected the erythrocytes from t-BHP-induced oxidative stress as evidenced by the decrease in MDA level and protein carbonyl group content, l-ascorbic acid also showed similar protective effect. The results conclusively prove the efficacy of the antioxidant property of capsaicin. This evidence suggests that dietary factors that act as antioxidants to decrease membrane lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl formation may contribute to a protective effect against cancer, atherosclerosis and age related diseases. This antioxidant effect may, in part, explain the high consumption of capsicum in certain regions of the world.
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PMID:Protection of lipid peroxidation and carbonyl formation in proteins by capsaicin in human erythrocytes subjected to oxidative stress. 1655 14

Inflammation is a pivotal component of a variety of diseases, such as atherosclerosis and tumour progression. Various naturally occurring phytochemicals exhibit anti-inflammatory activity and are considered to be potential drug candidates against inflammation-related pathological processes. Capsicum baccatum L. var. pendulum (Willd.) Eshbaugh (Solanaceae) is the most consumed species in Brazil, and its compounds, such as capsaicinoids, have been found to inhibit the inflammatory process. However, the anti-inflammatory effects of C. baccatum have not been characterized. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of C. baccatum juice in animal models of acute inflammation induced by carrageenan and immune inflammation induced by methylated bovine serum albumin. Pretreatment (30 min) of rats with pepper juice (0.25-2.0 g kg(-1)) significantly decreased leucocyte and neutrophil migration, exudate volume and protein and LDH concentration in pleural exudates of a pleurisy model. This juice also inhibited neutrophil migration and reduced the vascular permeability on carrageenan-induced peritonitis in mice. C. baccatum juice also reduced neutrophil recruitment and exudate levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-1beta in mouse inflammatory immune peritonitis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the main constituent of C. baccatum juice, as extracted with chloroform, is capsaicin. In agreement with this, capsaicin was able to inhibit the neutrophil migration towards the inflammatory focus. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the anti-inflammatory effect of C. baccatum juice and our data suggest that this effect may be induced by capsaicin. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effect induced by red pepper may be by inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine production at the inflammatory site.
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PMID:Anti-inflammatory effects of red pepper (Capsicum baccatum) on carrageenan- and antigen-induced inflammation. 1838 Sep 20