Pepper plays a major role in preventing cancer

Pepper is so ubiquitous in our daily lives that people forget that this is the most popular spice in the world. The latest research has shown that this spice plays a major role in preventing cancer by facilitating the absorption of other anti-cancer molecules.

Spicy peppers are characterized by high concentrations of piperine. This is a complex molecule that can account for up to 10% of pepper weight. In addition to the spicy flavor, piperine also plays an important role in preventing cancer by absorbing some other anti-cancer molecules present in foods such as curcumin in turmeric, a powerful anti-cancer molecule.

But once curcumin is present in the intestine, this anti-cancer molecule is altered by the UDP-glucuronosyl enzyme, which causes it to be removed before creating an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effect.

However, due to the presence of pepper, ie piperine, the activity of UDP-glucoronosyl enzyme is inhibited, helping curcumin to be better absorbed. Piperine increases nearly 20 times the amount of curcumin in the blood, allowing it to increase its concentration high enough to have a healthy effect.

The combination of piperine and curcumin is not a separate case: piperine also improves the absorption of many other molecules present in food, especially b-carotene (pre-vitamin A), selenium, and EGCGM , the main anti-cancer molecule is present in green tea.