It has been established that roasted red meat garnished with oil (Suya) could be carcinogenic. But Nigerian researchers have also found that excessive intake of the popular Suya sauce (Yaji) made with- ginger, clove, red pepper and black pepper- believed to help ameliorate the possible negative effects of eating the roasted red meat, could cause kidney damage. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.
IT goes hand-in-hand with Suya, roasted red meat. It is made usually with a combination of local spices such as ginger, clove, red pepper and black pepper. The Suya sauce (Yaji), cherished by most Nigerians, has been implicated in kidney damage.
Nigerian researchers from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, in a study published recently in Pakistan Journal of Nutrition concluded, “the result of the present study therefore suggests that the excessive consumption of cloves or black pepper alone, or in combination with other spices, are capable of inducing a duration dependent but progressive renal damage, which may be through a mechanism that is associated with mast cell mobilisation into the kidney, and subsequently the triggering of renal fibrosis.”
Renal fibrosis is a kind of disease and a kind of physiological change, which means a gradual progress of renal function deteriorating from health to impairment until renal function lost.
Previous studies have implicated the excessive consumption of red meat, roasted and fried, with cancer. Also, several studies support the use of local spices such as ginger, clove, red pepper, black pepper, onion, and garlic as antioxidants to prevent cancer.
But the key word in the new study is excessive consumption of clove and black pepper, not all spices including the popular onions also cherished by Suya lovers.
The study titled: “A Comparative Study on the Effects of Excessive Consumption of Ginger, Clove, Red Pepper and Black Pepper on the Histology of the Kidney” was conducted by A.O. Nwaopara, M.A.C. Odike, U. Inegbenebor, S.O. Nwaopara and G.I. Ewere of the Departments of Anatomy, Pathology, Physiology, and Medical Laboratory Sciences, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State.
Commonly called clove, Syzygium aromaticum belongs to the plant family Myrtaceae. The locals, especially in Lagos call it conophor. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) monographs on selected medicinal plants, Flos Caryophylli, which consists of the dried lower buds of Syzygium aromaticum (cloves) are applied externally or locally for the treatment of toothache, and minor infections of the mouth and skin; and also used as an antiseptic for dressing. Nigerian researchers have found that extracts of cloves could be used to treat convulsion, seizures and sleeplessness.
Ginger or ginger root is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family, Zingiberaceae. Local names: Efik/Ibibio - jinja; Igbo - jinja; Yoruba - aje, orin, or atale. The rhizome is used for toothache, congested nostrils, cough, colds, influenza and flu, asthma, stomach problems, rheumatism, piles, hepatitis and liver problems. Until now, ginger has been extensively used in herbal remedies. In fact, ginger has been used to control or prevent nausea, vomiting, and motion sickness; as an anti-inflammatory (a drug that reduces pain and swelling as in arthritis), a cold remedy, an aid to digestion, a remedy for intestinal gas.
Red pepper also known as cayenne pepper or chilies is botanically called Capsicum annuum. It belongs to the plant family Solanaceae. To the Igbo it is called ose. The Yoruba call it atare, while to the Hausa it is borkunu. Several studies have found chili peppers to lower risk of type 2 diabetes, prevent stomach ulcers, help stop prostate cancer, boost immunity, clear congestion, boost heart health, induce pain relief, fight inflammation, and trigger weight loss.
Black pepper, botanically called Piper nigrum (uziza in Ibo) is of the plant family Piperaceae. The fruits and seeds are used to cure dyspepsia (indigestion), diarrhoea, cholera, piles, urinary problems, boils, rheumatism, toothaches and headaches. Black pepper is also used to stabilise the womb in women after birth.
Indeed, the effect of excessive consumption of Yaji –the complex Nigerian meat sauce, has been under investigation. The potential health hazards of this meat sauce, based on the contained active principles, have been highlighted. Its constituent spices - ginger, clove, red pepper and black pepper, have gingerol, eugenol, capsaicin, and piperine respectively, as their active principles.
Recently, a study revealed that the excessive consumption of ginger, red pepper, and black pepper, particularly in their combined state, as it is the case with Yaji, is capable of inducing hepatic necrosis (liver damage).
The researchers wrote: “Allergic reactions have been associated with cloves, black pepper and mast cells. The presence of mast cells and renal fibrosis has also been reported and in line with an ongoing investigation on the effects of excessive consumption of Yaji - the complex Nigerian meat sauce, this study was designed to correlate the individual and combined effects of the excessive consumption of Yaji-spices (ginger, clove, red pepper and black pepper) on the histology of the kidney, using 12 adult rabbits.
“The animals were divided into six groups of two (2) each (A, B, C, D, E and F). Groups B, C, D, E and F were the test groups whereas group A is the control. For 21 days, test group B was fed with feed and a combination of all the yaji-spices (3g each) while test groups C, D, E, and F were fed with feed and 3g each of the spices per day respectively.
“The histological observations showed that there were no effect on the kidneys in test groups C and E whereas in B, D and F, there were distinct round basophilic bodies in the interstitium of the renal cortex, which were suspected to be mast cells, and hence, implicating cloves and black pepper. This result suggests a possible mechanism of renal damage that is clove and black pepper feeding-induced, duration dependent and with mast cell mobilisation into the kidney, that may then trigger renal fibrosis.
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