A 4-week feeding study of ground red chilli (Capsicum annuum) in male B6C3F1 mice.

The toxicity of red chilli was examined in male B6C3F1 mice fed a commercial meal diet mixed with ground Capsicum annuum (Linn.) at levels of 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10% by weight. Mice were offered control or test diets ad lib. starting at 6 wk of age. Food consumption was measured daily and individual body weights recorded weekly for the 4-wk feeding period. General health, body weight and food intake were apparently not adversely affected at any level of pepper consumption. Histopathological evaluation revealed slight glycogen depletion and anisocytosis of hepatocytes in the 10% group. However, other organs did not reveal any lesions attributable to the chilli exposure. It appears that red chilli is relatively non-toxic at the doses tested in male B6C3F1 mice.