Individuals that turn away from peppery foods might need to have a rethink, as scientists have found that capsaicin, the ingredient that makes food taste hot, may help lower blood pressure.

Researchers studying the effects of capsaicin on the blood vessels of rats and mice stated that eating chilli-laden dishes make blood vessels relax, and consequently lowers blood pressure, the risk for health problems such as stroke, and heart attacks.

According to this latest finding that established a link between the ingestion of capsaicin over a longer period of time and a subsequent lowering of blood pressure in animals genetically predisposed to having hypertension, blood pressure starts to fall after four months of the capsaicin diet, and this difference reaches statistical significance between five and seven months.

The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, suggested that capsaicin works by activating a special “channel” in the lining of the blood vessels called the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). When the channel is activated, it increases the production of nitric oxide in the blood vessels, which is believed to protect against inflammation and other vascular problems.

The scientists said the study on the rats now needs to be confirmed by analysing any epidemiological association between eating chilli peppers and blood pressure.

Previous studies have produced mixed results when it comes to finding a link between hot chilies and blood pressure, but this may be because they were carried out over relatively short time periods,
Although, it is not yet clear just how many capsaicin-containing chilli peppers  every individual should eat  daily to maintain a lowered blood pressure, the expert said eating capsaicin in the diet could be a promising lifestyle intervention for helping people with high blood pressure.

For now, people with high blood pressure are not yet expected to try substituting their blood pressure medication with a diet high in chilies until more studies on epidemiological association between eating chilli peppers and blood pressure are done in humans.

Animal research helps us to understand more about how the body functions normally and when experiencing disease. It gives researchers an insight into the ways in which diseases might be treated.

However, there are differences between animal species, which mean that findings in rats and mice may not necessarily apply to humans.

There has been some research into the medical properties of capsaicin in humans, including whether it can be used as a pain-relieving ingredient on the skin and to control weight.

Laboratory studies have hinted that capsaicin may help to fight obesity by decreasing calorie intake, shrinking fat tissue, and lowering fat levels in the blood. Although experts still do not know exactly how capsaicin might trigger such beneficial effects in the report that appeared in the Journal of Proteome Research, they suggested that capsaicin could have triggered certain beneficial protein changes in the body.

The scientists, in an effort to find out how chilies help to fight obesity, fed high-fat diets with or without capsaicin to laboratory rats used to study obesity. The capsaicin-treated rats lost 8 per cent of their body weight and showed changes in levels of at least 20 key proteins found in fat.

Capsaicin creams are commonly sold over the counter as effective treatment for a variety of pain syndromes, from minor muscle or joint aches to those that are very difficult to treat, such as arthritis and neuropathic pain.

A new review by The Cochrane Library suggested that four out of 10 people could experience some pain relief from the cream of topical capsaicin, an active component of chili peppers.

The reviewers said it might be best to consider capsaicin cream as an extra pain-relief measure or a later, if not last, resort when treatment is inadequate, especially since there have been studies on oral medicines for nerve pain that provide clear evidence of their effectiveness and side-effects.

Researchers were following up on a related 2004 review about capsaicin treatment for neuropathic pain, which implied that capsaicin might serve as a useful addition to, or as a single therapy for, certain patients who did not respond well to, or could not tolerate, other treatments.

One drawback with capsaicin is that, commonly, patients experience local skin irritation - burning, stinging or redness - at the application site. These side-effects generally prove mild and transient, but they do lead some patients to discontinue capsaicin.

From  one part of the continent to another, contributions of indigenous knowledge to native remedies of hypertension vary. This is obvious from information on the therapies for high blood pressure in the Yoruba-speaking communities of Ilugun area of Ogun State.

A survey of the plants used by the people of Ilugun area as remedy for high blood pressure, undertaken between January 2007 and April 2008, using personal communication and questionnaires, found out that nine different plants were being used for treating high blood pressure.

These plants are ficus exasperata. Heliotropium indicum; Afromomum melegueta (guinea pepper or alligator pepper); Justicia schimperi; Persea Americana (avocado) and Talinium triangulare (water leaf).

Others are Acreage paniculatum (called Nigerian powder-flask fruit), Newboldia laevis (referred to as akoko tree in Yoruba) and Chenopodium ambrosioides (referred to as climbing black pepper or Benin pepper in English and ewe imí or Arunpale in Yoruba).

The plant, Ficus exasperata, is a small tree or shrub that bears figs, which usually appears in pairs in the leaf axils. It is popularly referred to as sand paper tree in Nigeria. It is also known by local names such as; Kawusa (Nupe), Ameme (Edo), Eepin (Yoruba), Anwerenwa (Igbo).

Heliotropium indicum is found in tropical and non-tropical countries bearing various names, such as Cock’s comb (Gambia), Indian heliotrope, and Agogo Igun or Ogbe Akuko (Yoruba - Nigeria).

According to Burkill H. M in his book entitled, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Justicia schimperi is referred to as budidiyo in Hausa; shigel kirgegu in Kanuri  and  obe dudu in Yoruba.

The 2009 survey documented in the African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology was entitled “Ethno-phyto therapeutic information for the treatment of high blood pressure among the people of Ilugun, Ilugun area of Ogun State, South-west Nigeria.” It was carried out by Laval I. O;  Uzokwe N. E; Asinwa I. O. and Igboanugo A. B. from the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan in collaboration with Ladipo D. O from the Centre for Renewable Natural Resources, Research and Development (CENRAD), Ibadan.

The plants with the highest potency according to the respondents are Ficus exasperate root bark, Heliotropium indicum, Afromomum melegueta, Justicia schimperi, Newboldia laevis and Chenopodium ambrosioides.

In preparing this herbal treatment for usage, the root back of Ficus exasperates is to be chewed daily after each meal for four days. Also, alligator pepper is added to a whole plant of H. indicum, charred, and the powder is used with hot pap intermittently twice daily for seven days. In addition, the infusion made from boiling J. schimperi and avocado leaves is taken every night before sleep for six days.  The whole roots of water leaf plant can be boiled in water and its decoction taken three times daily for seven days.

Also, a decoction for treating hypertension can also be made from the root of Nigerian powder-flask fruit plant (referred to as sanga in Yoruba) and leaves of A. paniculatum (ewe akoko). The decoction is to be taken in the morning before eating for eight days. Similarly, a decoction of the leaves of C. ambrosioides is usually adviced to be taken once at night for 10 days to treat hypertension.

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