Luqman Suaib, Rizvi Syed Ibrahim
Department of Biochemistry, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002, India.
Phytother Res. 2006 Apr;20(4):303-6. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1861.
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.
辣椒素（8-甲基-N-香草基-6-壬酰胺）是辣椒属植物辣椒中主要的辛辣成分。本研究旨在探讨辣椒素对氧化应激标志物的抗氧化特性；人红细胞中的膜脂质过氧化（丙二醛的形成）和膜羰基。已将辣椒素的作用与L-抗坏血酸进行了比较。通过用叔丁基过氧化氢孵育人红细胞使其遭受氧化应激，导致丙二醛水平和蛋白质羰基含量显著高于基础值。孵育培养基中存在辣椒素（10微摩尔）可保护红细胞免受叔丁基过氧化氢诱导的氧化应激，这表现为丙二醛水平和蛋白质羰基含量降低，L-抗坏血酸也显示出类似的保护作用。结果确凿地证明了辣椒素抗氧化特性的功效。这一证据表明，作为抗氧化剂以减少膜脂质过氧化和蛋白质羰基形成的饮食因素可能有助于对癌症、动脉粥样硬化和与年龄相关疾病的保护作用。这种抗氧化作用可能部分解释了世界某些地区辣椒的高消费量。
