Antioxidants (Jul 2023)

Pepper Fruit Extracts Show Anti-Proliferative Activity against Tumor Cells Altering Their NADPH-Generating Dehydrogenase and Catalase Profiles

  • Marta Rodríguez-Ruiz,
  • María C. Ramos,
  • María J. Campos,
  • Inmaculada Díaz-Sánchez,
  • Bastien Cautain,
  • Thomas A. Mackenzie,
  • Francisca Vicente,
  • Francisco J. Corpas,
  • José M. Palma

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12071461
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 7
p. 1461

Abstract

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Cancer is considered one of the main causes of human death worldwide, being characterized by an alteration of the oxidative metabolism. Many natural compounds from plant origin with anti-tumor attributes have been described. Among them, capsaicin, which is the molecule responsible for the pungency in hot pepper fruits, has been reported to show antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities, as well as anti-proliferative properties against cancer. Thus, in this work, the potential anti-proliferative activity of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruits from diverse varieties with different capsaicin contents (California 2O2 and NADPH seem to be available to cells, thus avoiding cell proliferation and possibly triggering cell death in both cell lines.

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