By Danny O. Calleja
LEGAZPI CITY, (PNA) – Eating a lot of ‘siling labuyo’ (Capsicum frutescens l) requires the gut that makes Bicolanos lucky enough with their favorite fiery cuisine of hot pepper, which, besides being good source of nutrients, offers numerous therapeutic actions.
And since several food studies have listed vitamins and mineral as nutrients that can be found in sili (as simply called), never mind the common joke about the Bicolanos that describes their passion for it: “In the face of an oncoming typhoon, they will prop up their sili bush before the nipa hut.”
These are nutrients value per 100-gram (g) sili serving are water, 86.0 g; protein, 1.9 g; fat, 1.9 g; carbohydrates, 9.2 g; iron, 1.2 milligram (mg); calcium, 14.4 mg; vitamin A, 700-21600 IU; and vitamin C, 242.0 mg.
The same studies found medicinal properties of hot pepper such as excellent promoter of ligaments — given that ingestion of fresh sili is believed to be wholesome for persons of phlegmatic temperament, being considered stimulating.
It is a powerful rube facient, a medicine for external application that produces redness of the skin; relieves pain by counter-irritant effect; an effective gargle when mixed with vinegar; warm fomentation of both leaves and fruit applied for rheumatic pains; leaves can be used as dressing for wounds and sores; strong infusion of the fruit is applied as a lotion for ringworm of the scalp; and cures stomach pain, gout, dyspepsia and cholera.
Laboratory studies say siling labuyo contains capsaicin, a chemical compound that causes the burning sensation in the mouth.
With that hot and burning feeling, capsaicin triggers the brain to kick out flood of endorphins, a natural pain killer of the body that promotes sense of well being and stimulation.
Siling labuyo gives an amazing relief to arthritis and rheumatism. It brings down blood sugar levels, lowers cholesterol, prevents blood clots, halts bleeding quickly, knocks out cold and flu miseries.
It also reduces risk of heart diseases and tuberculosis apart from being an ulcer healer.
Currently, there are numerous studies going on for the medicinal applications of siling labuyo since it is associated with therapeutic actions such as: aphrodisiac, diaphoretic, expectorant, neural stimulant, rubefacient, synergist vasomotor stimulant and topical vasodilator, among others.
Abroad, siling labuyo (called jalapeno chili pepper) has been found to possess the ability to drive prostate cancer cells to kill themselves.
A study by a research team from the University of California and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center recently published by Washington Times found that the hot stuff in peppers, capsaicin, causes 80 percent of active prostate cancer cells growing in mice to “follow the molecular pathways leading to apoptosis” or cell death.
Capsaicin has a profound anti-proliferative effect on human prostate cancer cells in culture, the study shows.
The same publication also cited other researches which have shown peppers to have antioxidant properties and their anti-inflammatory properties have been tapped for treatment of migraines, arthritis and muscle pain.
Hot peppers have also been found to suppress appetites and clear a stuffy head and are a good source of vitamins A, C and E, folic acid and potassium, it added.
Now, wonder why some Bicolanos have been known to pluck a branch of the bush afire with ripe-red sili and eat the peppers as if they were salted peanuts.
For them, food without sili is tasteless and colorless, just as the French would say that a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.
According to Bicolano writer Honesto General in his “The Burning Passion for Sili,” hot pepper bush is as much a part of the Bicol landscape.
“There are no wide commercial plantings. But you will find the bush in backyards and front lawns and flowerpots in many a rural or urban home. In Bicol there is not a single vegetable stall in the public market or sari-sari store by a roadside that does not carry sili in its inventory,” General said.
The coconut cookery served in any public eating place in Bicol, especially in Albay, is almost certain to be liberally spiced with sili.
“The cast-iron kawali (wok) that has been used for years for cooking gulay (vegetables) becomes so impregnated with sili that if you use it to fry rice, your final product will automatically be richly spiced,” he added.
And so, Bicolano cuisine is famous for its rich and spicy dishes which are mostly cooked using coconut milk and spiced with the super hot siling labuyo.
Among the well known Bicolano specialties are: Bicol Express, a very hot dish made of small bits of meat, balaw (fermented shrimps), coconut milk, garlic, onion, ginger, and of course, red and green chilies; and pinangat, a concoction of ground shrimp or fish paste wrapped in gabi (taro) leaves and cooked into a stew with ginger, chili and coconut milk.