Spicy food can damage or help the gut depending on dose [capsaicin]

[cs3000]

Capsaicin is the active ingredient in peppers

cayenne has 1.25 - 2.5mg capsaicin per gram dry weight.

In another study, cayenne pepper samples had mean capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin contents of 1.32 and 0.83 mg/g dry weight, respectively <

---- so in total ~2mg compounds per gram of dry weight cayenne powder


~10mg human equivalent in mice prevents gut barrier dysfunction through mucin secretion
Mucin secretory action of capsaicin prevents high fat diet-induced gut barrier dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice colon - PubMed


?does low dose <10mg stimulate a healthy response without damaging intestinal cells?

It has a short half life. but 2g of (i think) dry cayenne pepper powder in juice, works better than 4g for protecting gut cells (~2.5mg vs 5mg capsaicin)

Evaluation of Anti-Ulcer activity of Capsicum annuum fruit extract by using Pylorus Ligation Model

Many herbalists believe that Capsicum annuum (cayenne) is the most useful and valuable herb in the herb kingdom, not only for the entire digestive system, but also for the heart and circulatory system. Because it acts as a catalyst and it increases

www.academia.edu

Capsaicin induces a protective effect on gastric mucosa along with decreased expression of inflammatory molecules in a gastritis model (cox-2 inhibition maybe not good for wound healing? as pge2 needed? but maybe not a problem so short lasting. other mechanisms outweigh this?)
*& does it have painkilling effects which might mask damage? do not want 100s or maybe 10s of milligrams with gut problems

Different mechanisms were suggested for the protective effect of small doses (100-800 µg/kg)
[~ 1mg to 8mg human dose with 1mg working best] of capsaicin

https://jmh.journals.ekb.eg/article_179228_37d5f019990485beb97efcb070ecabbe.pdf
Ingestion of low dose of capsaicin prior to indomethacin prevented the effect of indomethacin on jejunal mucosa more than high dose

Giving capsaicin in high doses (1mg/kg) in group V, half an hour prior to indomethacin produced a limited
protective effect against indomethacin compared to group IV. The percentage of inflammatory cell infiltration
in group V was significantly less within the connective tissue core of the villi, compared to indomethacin group
but more than that in group IV

Giving a low dose of capsaicin alone (100 µg/kg in group IV) half an hour prior to indomethacin eliminated
the harmful effect of indomethacin on the jejunal structure. So, capsaicin produced a significant protective effect
against indomethacin. The structure of the mucosa was nearly like control group. The percentage of haemorrhage
and inflammatory infiltration in the jejunum were significantly decreased comparing to group III

Useful study they included capsaicin only groups,

the high dose (~10mg human dose started negatively affecting villus height in the intestines (mildly), & showed inflammation + bleeding), and didnt protect as much as the low dose, so this amount is into damaging dose territory.
the low dose (~1mg human dose showed very mild drop in villus height with the increased width. and didnt show any signs of damage)

Capsaicins protective effect was reported to be through various mechanisms such as increased gastric mucosal blood flow and gastric mucus secretion and facilitated gastric epithelial restitution [14].

Giving a higher dose of capsaicin only (1mg/kg in group VII) intragastrically produced some histopathological changes in the form of inflammatory cell infiltration andhaemorrhage. Also, in this group, there was PAS positive material in the brush border of enterocytes which was nearly like that of the control group. However, a few numbers of goblet cells evacuated their content. Capsaicinin this dose may act as an irritant to the mucosal lining and it stimulated the goblet cells to evacuate its content to produce a protective mucous layer.

The explanation of mucosal damage produced by large dose of capsaicinis through increase in cytosolic Ca++ that lead to mitochondrial damage and neuronal death. This causes mucosal desensitization which increases intestinal motility and decreases mucosal blood flow causing ischemia, interstitial haemorrhage, and inflammatory cellular infiltration.
capsaicin when given prior to indomethacin in a low dose (100 µg/kg BW) is more protective to jejunal mucosa against injury by indomethacin than the high dose(1 mg/kg BW)

Effects of Capsaicin on Growth Performance, Meat Quality, Digestive Enzyme Activities, Intestinal Morphology, and Organ Indexes of Broilers
in chickens 2mg/kg increased villus height


1mg dose of capsaicin caused 0 bleeding or inflammation & protected intestine against damage (taken same time as damaging thing)
so assuming works the same in humans & if you include the extra dihydro form of capsaicin , then ~500mg of dried cayenne pepper powder or equivalent would be healthy intake

(protective effect against compounds might not be that useful its half life is short orally. but has an overall effect by the gut barrier study, tho would the lower dose also increase mucin the same without damage inducing mucin secretion? anyway this looks like the dose gut can tolerate at once without damage. in rats at least who also arent specialized for eating spicy stuff)

 

[Mauritio]

Capsaicin is the active ingredient in peppers

cayenne has 1.25 - 2.5mg capsaicin per gram dry weight.

---- so in total ~2mg compounds per gram of dry weight cayenne powder


~10mg human equivalent in mice prevents gut barrier dysfunction through mucin secretion
Mucin secretory action of capsaicin prevents high fat diet-induced gut barrier dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice colon - PubMed


?does low dose <10mg stimulate a healthy response without damaging intestinal cells?

It has a short half life. but 2g of (i think) dry cayenne pepper powder in juice, works better than 4g for protecting gut cells (~2.5mg vs 5mg capsaicin)

Evaluation of Anti-Ulcer activity of Capsicum annuum fruit extract by using Pylorus Ligation Model

Many herbalists believe that Capsicum annuum (cayenne) is the most useful and valuable herb in the herb kingdom, not only for the entire digestive system, but also for the heart and circulatory system. Because it acts as a catalyst and it increases

www.academia.edu

Capsaicin induces a protective effect on gastric mucosa along with decreased expression of inflammatory molecules in a gastritis model (cox-2 inhibition maybe not good for wound healing? as pge2 needed? but maybe not a problem so short lasting. other mechanisms outweigh this?)
*& does it have painkilling effects which might mask damage? do not want 100s or maybe 10s of milligrams with gut problems

Different mechanisms were suggested for the protective effect of small doses (100-800 µg/kg)
[~ 1mg to 8mg human dose with 1mg working best] of capsaicin

https://jmh.journals.ekb.eg/article_179228_37d5f019990485beb97efcb070ecabbe.pdf
Ingestion of low dose of capsaicin prior to indomethacin prevented the effect of indomethacin on jejunal mucosa more than high dose



Useful study they included capsaicin only groups,

the high dose (~10mg human dose started negatively affecting villus height in the intestines (mildly), & showed inflammation + bleeding), and didnt protect as much as the low dose, so this amount is into damaging dose territory.
the low dose (~1mg human dose showed very mild drop in villus height with the increased width. and didnt show any signs of damage)

View attachment 55285View attachment 55286

Effects of Capsaicin on Growth Performance, Meat Quality, Digestive Enzyme Activities, Intestinal Morphology, and Organ Indexes of Broilers
in chickens 2mg/kg increased villus height


1mg dose of capsaicin caused 0 bleeding or inflammation & protected intestine against damage (taken same time as damaging thing)
so assuming works the same in humans & if you include the extra dihydro form of capsaicin , then ~500mg of dried cayenne pepper powder or equivalent would be healthy intake

(protective effect against compounds might not be that useful its half life is short orally. but has an overall effect by the gut barrier study, tho would the lower dose also increase mucin the same without damage inducing mucin secretion? anyway this looks like the dose gut can tolerate at once without damage. in rats at least who also arent specialized for eating spicy stuff)

Thanks ,another great study and you already did all the calculations, such a blessing!
Have you tried it yourself? I never eat pepper because I thought it was irritating, but I might start after having read this post.

Another bonus is that Capsaicin is anti-fungal and I'm currently on the anti-fungal train anyway.
It inhibits ergosterol synthesis, which is needed for cell wall integrity of the fungus and thus weakens its defense.
Capsaicin inhibited biofilm by up to 89% and it was synergistic with fluoconazole ,enabliling a 2 to 4 times lower dose of it to be effective.
- Anticandidal Activity of Capsaicin and Its Effect on Ergosterol Biosynthesis and Membrane Integrity of Candida albicans - PubMed.

As I have written about in this post, combining an anti-fungal that reduces ergosterol synthesis with an HDAC inhibitor has extra synergy. So that is an option.

Also Capsaicin + MCT's like caprylic or lauric acid might be synergistic since mcts have a simialar mechanism as these anti-fungal drugs (" Interestingly, the inhibition of sterol production by medium‐chain fatty acids was reminiscent of the action mechanism of commercial antifungal azoles that inhibit 4‐α‐sterol demethylase (encoded by the ERG11 gene), which is required for the biosynthesis of ergosterol. ") and in the study above it was shown that capsaicin makes fluconazole more effective,so it should do the same with MCTs.

So: HDAC inhibitor + capsaicin + MCT = triple anti-fungal synergy

 

[cs3000]

@Mauritio nice , any idea what dose thats effective at? would it be within that damage threshold

im trying it in 1 or 2 gelatin caps (i leave the top off so get a burn reaction on tongue just incase that plays a role in benefits)
trying stuff that switches macrophages from m1 to m2 & seeing if helps gut repair (baking soda does that well). capsaicin does this in brain to protect dopamine neurons and in pancreas to prevent type 1 autoimmune diabetes Oral ingestion of Capsaicin enhances a discreet population of macrophages and confers protection from autoimmune diabetes

something curious is it showed antidepressant-like effect on very low doses Capsaicin produces antidepressant-like effects in the forced swimming test and enhances the response of a sub-effective dose of amitriptyline in rats
in humans its detectable in blood for ~1.5hrs after 5 grams of dry chilli powder w ~2.25mg capsaicin

 

[HumanLife]

I avoid all spices based on how they can kill off cells. They can kill bad stuff but that’s too risky.

 

[Mauritio]

@Mauritio nice , any idea what dose thats effective at? would it be within that damage threshold

im trying it in 1 or 2 gelatin caps (i leave the top off so get a burn reaction on tongue just incase that plays a role in benefits)
trying stuff that switches macrophages from m1 to m2 & seeing if helps gut repair (baking soda does that well). capsaicin does this in brain to protect dopamine neurons and in pancreas to prevent type 1 autoimmune diabetes Oral ingestion of Capsaicin enhances a discreet population of macrophages and confers protection from autoimmune diabetes

something curious is it showed antidepressant-like effect on very low doses Capsaicin produces antidepressant-like effects in the forced swimming test and enhances the response of a sub-effective dose of amitriptyline in rats
in humans its detectable in blood for ~1.5hrs after 5 grams of dry chilli powder w ~2.25mg capsaicin

No unfortunetly not. I'm going to try it out. I'll use a low dose and see if there is an anti-fungal effect. I'll combine it with caprylic acid and biotin ( supposed HDAC inhibitor).


So around 0.3-1.5mg of a HED that is. Interestingly that might be an amount that people consum when they slightly spice their food with cayenne pepper.
I suspect that it acts as an MAO inhibitor ,since it enhanaces amitriptyline's effects and helps with dopamine in the brain.

EDIT:
actually it wasnt hard to find some evidence on capsaicin beeing an MAO inhibitor, unfortunetly they dont specifi if its MAO-A or B.

"The PDflies showed a significant increase of 4.42-fold in the activity of MAO (Fig. 3A;p<0.05). The PD flies exposed to 20, 40, 80 and 100 µM of capsaicin, respectively,showed a dose dependent significant decrease of 1.09-, 1.24-, 1.47-, 1.60-folds inMAO activity, compared to unexposed PD flies (Fig. 3A; p<0.05, r = 0.991)."
- Effect of capsaicin on the oxidative stress and dopamine content in the transgenic Drosophila model of Parkinson's disease - PubMed

 

[Mauritio]

Capsaicin increases NO in this study, so that would speak against using it. Although the dosage was pretty high!

https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(10)00228-7

 

[Jonk]

I feel spicy food help with my digestion. I often eat my rice with some green curry paste, fish sauce and coconut oil. Maybe just because it tastes good. Too much hotness feels very stressful though.