Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Medically, It’s HOT!

Family: Solanaceae; (includes Potato, Tomato, Eggplant, Tobacco, Nightshade)

Genus and Species: Capsicum Annuum, C. Frutescens

Also known as: Hot Pepper, Cayenne Chili Pepper, African Pepper, Tabasco Pepper, Louisiana Long (and Short) Pepper, Guinea Pepper, Bird Pepper, Capsicum; Green and Red Bell Pepper, Paprika, and Pimiento are all milder varieties of C. Annuum

Parts used: Fruit

The fiery taste and bright color of red pepper make it one of the world’s most noticeable spices. Recently, this herb has become as hot in Healing as it is on the tongue.

Extracts of red pepper have proved remarkably effective at relieving certain types of severe, chronic pain. It also may aid digestion.

Although it’s been a culinary staple in Asia since ancient times, it was unknown in Europe until Columbus returned with it from his first voyage to the New World.

Don’t Call It Cayenne

The term cayenne comes from the Caribbean Indian word kian. Today Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana. But ironically, only a tiny fraction of the u.s. red pepper supply comes from South America or the Caribbean. Most comes from India and Africa. Tabasco (Louisiana pepper) grows along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Because so little red pepper comes from around Cayenne, the American Spice Trade Association considers cayenne a misnomer and says this herb should be called red pepper.

Too Hot to Handle

Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote that immoderate use of red pepper “inflames the mouth and throat so extremely it is hard to endure,” and warned it “might prove dangerous to life.” But when used sparingly, he claimed the herb was of “considerable service” to “help digestion, provoke urine, relieve toothache, preserve the teeth from rottenness, comfort a cold stomach, expel the stone from the kidney, and take away dimness of sight.” Culpeper urged women to mix red pepper, gentian, and bay laurel oil in cotton, and insert it vaginally to “bring down the courses” (menstruation). But he warned that “if [it] be put into the womb after delivery, it will make [the woman] barren forever.”

During the 18th century, red pepper was mixed with snuff to boost the inhaled tobacco’s kick. Herbalist Phillip Miller warned against this, saying the combination caused “such violent fits of sneezing as to break the blood vessels in the head.”

In India, the East Indies, Africa, Mexico, and the Caribbean, red pepper enjoys a long history as a digestive aid. But this use never caught on among Europeans, who have traditionally believed that hot spices cause stomach ulcers.

American Foot Warmer

The first North American to advocate red pepper in Healing was Samuel Thomson, creator of Thomsonian herbal medicine, which enjoyed considerable popularity before the Civil War. Thomson believed most disease was caused by cold and cured by heat, so he prescribed “warming” herbs extensively, and red pepper was chief among them.

After the Civil War. America’s Eclectic physicians called red pepper capsicum and recommended it externally for arthritis and muscle soreness and internally as a digestive stimulant and treatment for colds, cough, fever, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and toothache. The Eclectics also advised adding red pepper to socks to treat cold feet, a use echoed in some herbals today.

The Eclectics considered red pepper invaluable in the treatment of delirium tremens, the combination of hallucinations and violent tremors common among advanced alcoholics: “Capsicum is the very best agent that can be used in delirium tremens. It enables the stomach to take and retain food. The best form is in a tea or strong beef soup. There is no danger of overdose as a [large] quantity may be swallowed with evident pleasure and without ill results.”

American folk healers have also recommended dusting children’s hands with powdered red pepper to stop thumb sucking and nail biting.

Contemporary herbalists prescribe capsules of cayenne powder for colds, gastrointestinal and bowel problems, and as a digestive aid. Externally, they recommend cayenne plasters for arthritis and muscle soreness.

Modern science has supported this herb’s traditional uses as a digestive aid and pain reliever. Red pepper owes its heat and its value in herbal Healing to one chemical found in its fruit-capsaicin.

Digestive Aid - Red pepper assists digestion by stimulating the flow of both saliva and stomach secretions. Saliva contains enzymes that begin the breakdown of carbohydrate, while stomach secretions (gastric juices) contain acids and other substances that further digest food.

In cultures with bland cuisine, such as traditional American meat-and-potatoes cooking, people often believe highly spiced foods damage the stomach and contribute to ulcers. This is not the case. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers used a tiny video camera to examine subjects’ stomach linings after both bland meals and meals liberally spiced with jalapeno peppers. They reported no difference in stomach condition and concluded:

“Ingestion of highly spiced meals by normal individuals is not associated with [gastrolntestinal] damage.”

Diarrhea - Like many culinary spices, red pepper has antibacterial properties, possibly explaining traditional claims that it helps relieve infectious diarrhea.

Chronic Pain - For centuries, herbalists have recommended rubbing red pepper into the skin to treat muscle and joint pains. Medically, this is known as using a counterirritant -a treatment that causes minor superficial pain and distracts the person from the more severe, deeper pain. Several capsaicin counterirritants are available over-the-counter, among them Heet, Stimurub, and Omega Oil.

Recently, however, red pepper has been shown to possess real pain-relieving (analgesic) properties for certain kinds of chronic pain. For reasons still not completely understood, capsaicin interferes with the action of “substance P,” the chemical in the peripheral nerves that sends pain messages to the brain. Several recent studies all showed capsaicin so effective at relieving a particular type of chronic pain, two over-the-counter capsaicin creams, Zostrix and Axsain, have won Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

Shingles - Zostrix is the most effective treatment yet for the severe chronic pain following the disease known as shingles, or herpes zoster. Shingles is an adult disease caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox in children. The virus remains dormant in the body until later in life when, for unknown reasons, it reappears in some people as shingles, causing a rash on one side of the body that progresses from red bumps to blisters to crusty pox resembling chicken pox. In otherwise healthy adults, shingles clears up by itself within three weeks. But some people-typically the elderly or those with other illnesses, particularly Hodgkin’s disease-suffer severe, chronic pain, a condition that doctors call postherpetic neuralgia. Now, thanks to capsaicin, they don’t have to suffer as much.

Diabetic Foot Pain - Capsaicin’s pain-relieving ability has also led to its use in treating the severe ankle and foot pain known as burning foot syndrome, which affects approxiMatély half of all diabetics. In one study, 7 I percent of diabetics reported significant relief after four weeks. The FDA recently approved a capsaicin preparation, Axsain, for use in treating this condition.

Cluster Headaches - A report in Environmental Nutrition showed capsaicin also helps relieve the pain of cluster headaches, extremely severe pain on one side of the head. In this study, cluster headache sufferers rubbed a capsaicin preparation inside their nostrils and outside their nose. Within five days, 75 percent reported less pain and fewer headaches. They also reported burning nostrils and a runny nose, but these side effects subsided within a week.

Intriguing Possibility - Red pepper may help cut cholesterol and prevent heart disease, according to two studies done in India and the United States. While it is too early to recommend red pepper as a means of lowering cholesterol and treating heart disease, this common kitchen spice may someday have a role to play in these areas.

Rx for Red Pepper

In food, season to taste, but err on the side of caution. A little too much can set the mouth on fire.

For an infusion to aid digestion and possibly help reduce risk of heart disease, use ¼ to ½ teaspoon per cup of boiling water. Drink it after meals.

For external application to help treat pain, mix ¼ to ½ teaspoon per cup of warm vegetable oil and rub it into the affected area.

Red pepper should not be given to children under age 2. For older children, start with a small amount and use more if necessary. People over 65 often suffer a loss of taste-bud and skin-nerve sensitivity and may require more than younger adults.

Chopping red peppers may burn the fingertips, a condition dubbed Hunan hand because it was first identified in a man who was preparing a Hunan Chinese recipe that called for chopping many of the fiery fruits He wound up in an emergency room with severe hand pain.

Red pepper does not wash off the hands easily. (Washing in vinegar removes it best.) Even with careful washing, the pungent herb may remain on the fingertips for hours and cause severe eye pain if contaminated fingers touch the eyes. Use rubber gloves when chopping red peppers.

One French study shows that red pepper boosts resistance to infection. Some bacteria-fighting spices can be sprinkled on cuts to help prevent infection, but don’t do this with red pepper. It burns terribly.

Red pepper has not been linked to menstruation promotion since the 17th century, but some research suggests the herb’s stems and leaves-not the more typically used powdered fruits-stimulate uterine contractions in animals. Pregnant women and those wishing to conceive should stick to the powdered fruits.

Other Cautions

Red pepper is on the FDA’s list of herbs generally regarded as safe. For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, red pepper is considered safe in the small amounts typically recommended.

Red pepper should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If red pepper causes minor discomforts, such as stomach upset, diarrhea, or burning during bowel movements, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.

Harvest Some Heat

Red pepper is a shrubby, tropical perennial with shiny, pendulous, leathery fruits. It grows best in tropical or subtropical areas but also prospers in south-facing windows and greenhouses.

In southern states, seeds may be sown after danger of frost has passed. Farther north, sow seeds indoors in flats eight weeks before the final frost date, then transplant. Space seedlings 12 inches apart.

Red pepper prefers rich, well-watered, sandy soil and full sun, but it tolerates some shade. When harvesting ripened fruit, be careful not to break the stems, or they may spoil. To dry red peppers, hang them in a warm, dry place. Drying takes several weeks.