Did You Know that You Can Treat Wounds with Cayenne Pepper? by Glenn Reschke A mong its many health benefits, cayenne pepper is also a great herb for the treating of wounds or lacerations. This may come as bit of a surprise to many. Cayenne pepper however is a multi-faceted herb. Not only does it stanch the blood flow of a cut or laceration, but it also actually disenfects the wound as it possesses anti-fungal and anti-bacterial capabilities. This has been known for decades by medicinal herbalists but has also recently been confirmed in a study as published in Medical Mycology. In a study titled, A Novel Antifungal Compound from Cayenne Pepper, cayenne, or capsicum as it's sometimes called, was found to possess remarkable antifungal activity or properties. One of the constitutent elements of cayenne is CAY-1. This saponin was found to disturb the membrane activity in fungal cells. This comes from the study's abstract. It says: "CAY-1, a novel saponin from Capsicum frutescens (commercially known as cayenne pepper), was investigated to determine its in vitro antifungal activity, mechanism of action and mammalian cell cytotoxicity. CAY-1 was active against 16 different fungal strains, including Candida spp. and Aspergillus fumigatus [minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 4 to 16 µg ml-1], and was especially active against Cryptococcus neoformans (90% inhibition at 1 µg ml-1). Synergistic activity was also observed between CAY-1 and amphotericin B against Candida albicans and A. fumigatus. No significant cytotoxicity was demonstrated when CAY- 1 was tested against 55 mammalian cell lines at up to 100 µg ml-1. Importantly, CAY-1 appears to act by disrupting the membrane integrity of fungal cells ."** We don't need to know all the microbiological activity behind the amazing herb of cayenne pepper, but this study confirms its authencity as a great healing herb. Many herbalists and naturopathic doctors have certified cayenne as being good for wounds too. Dr. John R. Christopher wrote about it as did Jethro Kloss, writer of the seminal work of diet and health Back to Eden. How to Use Cayenne Pepper in Treating Wounds I've actually seen online where one herb company advised against putting cayenne in a wound due to its heat. Don't worry. I've personally done it at least a dozen times and had no negative effect upon my wound or health in any way. So, how do you use it in treating a wound or to stop the bleeding of a fresh wound? Simply place the cayenne pepper powder in the wound. It will stop the bleeding in 10 to 12 seconds. If the wound is severe, it's ideal if the affilicted person can drink an eight-ounce glass. That's not always possible, however, I know, but would be ideal. Why would drinking it be important in such a circumstance? Because remember, cayenne equalizes the blood pressure immediately upon its ingestion. What about something more sever like hemorrhages? Let me quote directly from Herbalist Dr. John Christopher's book, School of Natural Healing, "...take a teaspoonful of cayenne in a glass of extra-warm water, drink it down, and by the count of ten, the bleeding will stop. Instead of all the pressure being centralized, it is equalized, and the clotting becomes more rapid. Whether the bleeding is internal or external, a teaspoon of cayenne taken orally in a a glass of hot water will stop the bleeding quickly." (Needless to say, see your doctor immediately with a serious injury.) I'm not a doctor and if there is one thing allopathic or Western medicine truly excels is in the treatment of emergency medical situation. It's not great in the eradication of diseases, of course, for there's simply too much profit in disease but it's great in emergency situations. It's not a panacea, however. Time has surely proven that. It will not hurt, of course, to swab a wound with alcohol to clean it, but if none is available, our friend cayenne pepper will do the job for even allopathic medical science has now proven its anti-fungal power. Cayenne should be in everyone's refrigerator or medicine cabinet as for household scraps and cuts and bruises, it is a ready-made herb both cleaning the wound and stopping bleeding. There you have it. Yours in health,

Glenn Reschke P.S. Lastly, if you're interested in supplementing or experimenting with cayenne, you can get more information about buying good quality cayenne at this article within this site. Or, to view a full product price list of a number of cayenne products, go here. References

Christopher, John R. (1976). School of Natural Healing. Provo, UT: BiWorld Publications, Inc. Renault, S., et al. CAY-I, A Novel Antifungal Compound from Cayenne Pepper. Medical Mycology, Volume 41, Issue 1 February 2003, pages 75-82. Selitrennikoff Affiliations: MycoLogics, Inc., Aurora, Colorado, USA. Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.