It is believed that acute seasonings reduce the risk of food poisoning, since they kill the potentially contained bacteria. We decided to check if this is so.
The antibacterial properties of acute foods report the media ("Evening Moscow","Championship" Lenta.ru), Information Portals and Rightsedician resources. In many sources Approvedthat the ability of acute pepper to kill microbes is the main reason why in the kitchens of the Asian region, where, due to the hot climate, food spoils faster and bacteria in it multiply more actively, so many sharp dishes. Discuss the alleged benefit from seasonings, allegedly helping to avoid food poisoning, users of social networks ("VKontakte" X) and the platform blog ("Picabu","Zen").
In 1998, scientists from the University of Cornell (USA) Studied More than 4,500 recipes from culinary books dedicated to cuisines of 36 countries of the world. Researchers compared the number of seasonings used with climate data and came to the conclusion that in countries with a higher average annual temperature (such as Thailand and India), spices were more common in recipes than where the climate is cooler (for example, in Sweden or Norway). According to the authors of the work, this is due to evolutionary mechanisms: those who liked dishes with spices in a hot climate were healthier, more often left offspring and taught children to cook food in the same way. At the same time, researchers took into account only those spices whose antibacterial properties were at least partially confirmed by other academic work. According to scientists, garlic, onions and Oregano turned out to be bacteria champions.
Pepper (for example, chili or halapeno) gives sharpness the substance capsaicin. The higher the capsaicin content in the fetus, the more acute. Scientists suggest that the production of capsaicin is a certain The mechanism of protection plants from fungi or herbivores. This is a substance acts Not to taste receptors, but on heat, so from acute pepper, the mouth burns regardless of the real temperature of the eaten dish. Capsaicin simply deceives the brain, forcing him to think that something was very hot in his mouth, and provoking the corresponding reaction.
Capsaicin and its derivatives really have some antimicrobial properties - German scientists who published this conclusion in this conclusion. review studies conducted on this topic. However, firstly, not all pathogens equally succumbed to the influence of this substance, and secondly, most of the experiments were conducted in vitro, that is, in the laboratory, when the bacteria in Petri's cups were exposed to large doses of capsaicin. No guarantees that capsaicin would also show itself well in the fight against bacteria in a real dish. Some specialists Markthat the concentration of capsaicin, necessary, for example, to destroy the intestinal stick, is too high to be achieved when cooking at home.
In addition, excessive use of capsaicin can lead to Symptoms, similar to food poisoning. The body, especially not accustomed to spicy food, can perceive this substance as a toxin and give up all the forces on its excretion - this will lead to pain in the abdomen, vomiting, diarrhea. At the same time, in moderate doses of capsaicin Useful Regardably his ability to kill microbes in food. It accelerates metabolism, has a positive effect on the intestinal microflora and can reduce its inflammation. Also the use of capsaicin can help Reduce the level of “bad” cholesterol and even prevent the development of some oncological diseases.
For severity mustard Other substances respond - Sinigrin (in the saptsky and black mustard) or Sinalbin (in white mustard). When crushing seeds, these substances react with the enzyme Mirosin, also contained in mustard. Under its influence, synigrin and synalbin are split, and essential oils are released. It is they who, when eating mustard, irritate the mucous membrane and have a burning effect.
In 2016, a group of scientists from South Africa conducted a review of research on properties Sinigrin, including the alleged antimicrobial effect. As in the case of capsaicin, the authors came to the conclusion that without additional studies it is impossible to say unequivocally whether Sinigrin is able to effectively fight food bacteria and prevent food poisoning.
In 2018, Italian scientists Checked Potentially useful for health, the properties of mustard on strains of several types of microbes are in Petri cups and on freshly cut salad leaves. Researchers came to the conclusion that Sinigrin and Sinalbin really have a certain antimicrobial effect in vitro, but the effect was very different depending on the type of bacteria and active substance. That is, Sinigrin fought better with some groups of bacteria, with others - Sinalbin. As for the leaves of salad treated with extracts of mustard seeds, during control measurements, six days later, a significantly smaller number of microbes were found compared to the unprocessed.
Thus, it is difficult to talk about the antimicrobial properties of acute seasonings in food. Firstly, the severity of spices is due to different substances, and to draw a generalized conclusion in principle incorrectly. Secondly, although some studies have shown that the substances contained in the pepper and mustard, which are responsible for acuteness, have certain antimicrobial properties, most experiments were carried out in laboratory conditions and their results cannot be transferred without additional checks to real life. Thirdly, the burning components of spices are not universal, different substances affect certain groups of bacteria differently. Therefore, it is better not to lay great hopes that acute spices will save from food poisoning. Probably, a chili or mustard pepper can really have some positive antimicrobial effect, but they are not a panacea.
Photo on the cover: pexels.com
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