Abstract
Hot pepper is a spice favored all over the world, especially in many Asian countries. For exampie, the Korean food, Kimuchi, contains much red pepper. Because of the wide usage of red pepper, it is important to find whether an excess intake is harmful to the gastrointestinal tract. This study demonstrated the effect of capsaicin, the major compound in hot pepper, on the stomach and small intestine of rats.
1) When capsaicin (0.14 or 1.4mg per day) was infused into the stomach for three days, rats with infused capsaicin displayed much more stomach content than the control rats (fasted for 24hr, no capsaicin). The stomach peristaltic movement may be inhibited by capsaicin.
2) Two hours after one gram of chow had been given, the dry weight of the stomach content and its nitrogen and lipid levels were much greater than those of the control rats, suggesting that the chyme in the stomach could not be spontaneously transferred to the duodenum. In the fasted condition, the dry weight of the stomach content was less than that of the control rats though capsaicin infusion showed no effect on the nitrogen and lipids of the stomach content. On the other hand, the dry weight of the small intestinal content and its nitrogen and lipid levels were much greater than those of the control rats.
3) Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the stomach and duodenum of rats given stomach infusion of capsaicin for three days (1.4mg per day), Distinct abnormal ultrastructure of the stomach surface cells was observed. The villi of duodenum also showed a different structure from that of the control.
