Spicey food may help fight cancer

The chemical in chillies that makes them hot to taste could be used to combat cancerous tumours, a new study has found.

Dr Andrew Westwell, a senior lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry at the Welsh School of Pharmacy, said the chemical compound capsaicin, that gives spicy food like curry its kick, could hold the key to the next generation of anti-cancer drugs that will kill tumours.

He was an adviser in a study, published in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, that has proven for the first time that capsaicin can kill cells by directly targeting their energy source.