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New from Sabinsa - Capsaicin beadlets and Capsallyl
Mon 13 Feb 2012
New from Sabinsa, Capsaicin beadlets have all of the benefits of capsaicin in a versatile beadlet form. Also in this range are Capsallyl tablets - pale yellow coloured enteric coated pellets, containing capsaicinoids and mustard seed oil. They contain a minimum of 2.0% of Capsaicinoids and 1% of Allylisothiocyanate.
Capsaicin is the main capsaicinoid in chili peppers, followed by dihydrocapsaicin. These two compounds are also about twice as potent to the taste and nerves as the minor capsaicinoids, nordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin and homocapsaicin. The pharmacological benefits of Capsaicin are as follows:
* Thermogenesis - increasing the metabolic rate by burning fat to produce body heat
In a series of human studies, Yoshioka et al1,2,3,4 (1995, 1998, 1999, and 2001) demonstrated an increase in diet-induced thermogenesis and a decrease in respiratory quotient (RQ) immediately after a meal to which capsaicin was added, implying a shift in substrate oxidation from carbohydrate to fat oxidation. They also showed a decreased appetite, decreased cumulative food intake and increased energy expenditure after the consumption of capsaicin.
* Weight management
Teruo Kawada et al7 (1986) studied the effects of capsaicin in experiments using male rats fed a diet containing 30% lard. Capsaicin was supplemented at 0.014% of the diet. They showed that capsaicin inhibits obesity by decreasing the intake of energy, adipose tissue weight and serum triglyceride level through the stimulation of lipid mobilization.
In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study with ninety one moderately overweight subjects, Manuela P. G. M. Lejeune et al8 (2003) concluded that Capsaicin treatment caused sustained fat oxidation during weight maintenance compared with placebo. However, capsaicin treatment has no limiting effect on three-month weight regain after modest weight loss.
* Management of pain and inflammation
Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is an important participant in the inflammatory process.
Se-Young Choi et al9 (2000) studied the regulation of PAF activity by capsaicin in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. They found that capsaicin inhibited PAF-induced superoxide production in a concentration-dependent manner.
Lee I.O. et al10 (2007) demonstrated that capsaicin inhibited the release of proinflammatory cytokine and interleukin-8 (IL-8) by Helicobacter pylori-infected gastric epithelial cells through nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) signal pathway. They found that the degradation of IkappaB and IKK activation were inhibited by capsaicin. Thus they concluded that capsaicin can be proposed as a potential anti-inflammatory agent
by inhibition of the production of IL-8 in H. pylori-infected gastric epithelium.
Topical applications of capsaicin have also proved to be efficacious in a range of painful conditions. According to Winter et al11 (1995) local application of capsaicin in humans may initially be analgesic but on repeated application leads to desensitization. High concentrations can block C-fiber conduction and result in long-lasting sensory deficits. These explain the efficacy of capsaicin in treating painful conditions like cluster headache, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, post herpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, etc.