Lindsay Brown

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 7: The next time you sprinkle black pepper in your soup, do so liberally. It could make that bulge around your waist melt away.

Not only that, banish guilt when you sip that delicious cup of cappuccino. Coffee, says Australian scientist Lindsay Brown, has no contribution towards obesity.

Coffee, black pepper, onion, purple carrot and oak bark extracts can work as “nutra-ceuticals” fighting stress, obesity, cardiovascular and liver-related diseases, says Brown of the department of biomedical sciences at University of Southern Queensland.

Nutra-ceutical is a term coined to name nutrients that have curative values.

“The ugly bulge around the waists of some middle-aged Indian women make them not only look ungainly in western wear, but also in saris. But now we have come up with solid evidence-based findings that prove that dietary inclusions and suitable adaptations can bring about a change in the shape and physiology of Indian bodies,” said Brown.

The scientist was speaking to The Telegraph after delivering a lecture on “Functional foods in health and diseases” at the 99th session of the Indian Science Congress.

The works of Brown and his team, mainly consisting of Indian researchers at University of Southern Queensland, were published in prestigious scientific journals such as Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, British Journal of Nutrition and Cell Biology and Biophysics last year.

Giving an example of evidence-based research, the scientist said it was found that coffee has no contribution towards obesity.

“I want to tell my Indian counterparts that they should go for more such research after extracting more formulations from numerous herbal plants, but there should be evidence-based development even in the herbal drug development sector. Without evidence-based research producing herbal drugs could be counter-productive,” he said.

Referring to use of the purple carrot, which is found in Punjab and Haryana, the Australian researcher said: “The vegetable is also found in Afghanistan and Pakistan and has been cultivated for 5,000 years. But for the first time a comprehensive research-based approach was made by our team which provided data on how cardiac cells, liver function and blood vessels can be improved by taking purple carrot.”

Likewise, the curative effects of onions, black pepper, and the derivatives of oak bark extract (OBE) was also documented. OBE is found in red wine, because wine is stored in oak barrels. “Red wine is good for the human heart and the entire body,” said the scientist.

However, some senior scientists present in the audience protested about the findings on OBE, and said red wine was very costly in India. “I know Indian sentiments are different, but evidence should be believed,” he said.

Coffee, black pepper, onion, purple carrot and oak bark extracts were found to be anti-inflammatory, i.e. useful in managing diseases such as arthritis. “We tested this after injecting immunoglobulins causing arthritis in rats. After using extracts from these food stuffs, it was seen that inflammation levels decreased in rats,” he said.

In case of obesity, it was found that inflammation caused by obesity could be reduced with the help of nutra-ceauticals. They also help dissolve fats. “We have showed the results on rats, now medical scientists can take over and find ways for humans,” Brown said.