Effects of a Preoperative Capsaicin-Containing Diet on Postoperative Liver Injury Repair: A Randomized Controlled Trial

November 4, 2026 updated by: Wan-Guang Zhang, Tongji Hospital

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a capsaicin-containing diet started before surgery can reduce liver injury and help the liver recover in adults aged 18 to 75 years who are scheduled for surgery to remove part of the liver because of a liver mass. Capsaicin is the substance that makes chili peppers spicy. The study will also assess the safety and tolerability of this diet.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does the capsaicin-containing diet help blood levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a marker of liver injury, fall more quickly between the first and fifth days after surgery?

Does it improve other measures of liver recovery and reduce liver failure after surgery?

What side effects, including stomach or intestinal discomfort, occur during the study?

Researchers will compare a jelly containing chili powder with a similar-looking placebo jelly containing sweet pepper powder without capsaicin. Both groups will receive the same standard care before, during, and after surgery.

The study plans to enroll 110 participants. Participants will be assigned by chance to one of the two groups, with an equal chance of receiving either study diet. Participants and the researchers assessing their recovery will not know which diet they receive.

Participants will:

Take the assigned jelly three times daily with meals, starting 2 days before surgery and continuing through the evening of the first day after surgery, with a pause for surgery as directed by the study team. The capsaicin group will receive approximately 7.5 mg of capsaicin per day.

Avoid other spicy foods while taking the study diet.

Have blood tests before and after surgery to assess liver injury, liver function, and safety.

Report any discomfort or other health problems to the study team.

Complete follow-up assessments around 30 and 90 days after surgery to check recovery, complications, hospital readmissions, and survival.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
110

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 to 75 years, of any sex.

A focal liver lesion scheduled for elective open or laparoscopic liver resection, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal liver metastases, or hepatic hemangioma.

Child-Pugh class A or B with a score of 7 or less, and indocyanine green retention at 15 minutes (ICG-R15) of 20% or less.

Planned intraoperative hepatic inflow occlusion.

An anticipated future liver remnant of at least 30% in patients with a normal liver or at least 40% in patients with cirrhosis.

Ability to tolerate an oral chili powder challenge, such as 0.5 g without gastrointestinal discomfort.

Willingness and ability to comply with the standardized study diet initiated 2 days before surgery, with a planned capsaicin dose of 7.5 mg/day in three divided doses with meals for participants assigned to the capsaicin group, and provision of written informed consent.

No severe cardiac, pulmonary, or renal dysfunction, with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 60 mL/min.

No history of liver transplantation or other organ transplantation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.

A history of or current malignancy other than the disease for which liver resection is planned, unless cured for at least 5 years without recurrence. Hepatocellular carcinoma scheduled for resection, and colorectal liver metastases together with their corresponding colorectal primary cancer, are not excluded under this criterion.

Persistent preoperative elevation of transaminases or total bilirubin above twice the upper limit of normal that does not improve with treatment, or a white blood cell count below the lower limit of normal.

A requirement for a combined radical oncologic procedure, such as pancreaticoduodenectomy or radical resection for hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Tumor thrombus in the main portal vein, the right or left portal vein branch, a hepatic vein, or the inferior vena cava.

Severe cirrhosis with a Child-Pugh score of 8 or higher, or moderate to severe esophagogastric varices identified by endoscopy.

Active bleeding, a coagulation disorder with an international normalized ratio (INR) greater than 1.5 or a platelet count below 100 × 10^9/L, or another contraindication to surgery.

Severe cardiac, pulmonary, or renal dysfunction, defined as New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) below 50% of the predicted value, or eGFR below 60 mL/min.

A history of or current active peptic ulcer disease, severe gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or a known allergy to chili powder or capsaicin.

Severe infection, active tuberculosis, autoimmune hepatitis, or another acute or chronic systemic disease.

Participation in another interventional clinical trial or use of an investigational drug affecting liver function within the preceding 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Capsaicin-Containing Diet
Other: Capsaicin-Containing Jelly

A food-based dietary intervention consisting of an oral jelly containing Thai chili powder. Each 15-mL serving contains 1.25 g of chili powder, providing approximately 2.5 mg of capsaicin. One serving is taken orally three times daily with meals, for a total of 3.75 g of chili powder and approximately 7.5 mg of capsaicin per day. Administration begins 2 days before surgery and continues through the evening of postoperative day 1, with perioperative interruption for surgery. Participants avoid other spicy foods during the intervention period.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Diet
Other: Placebo Jelly

An oral placebo jelly containing sweet pepper powder without capsaicin, matched to the capsaicin-containing jelly in appearance and caloric content. One serving is taken orally three times daily with meals, beginning 2 days before surgery and continuing through the evening of postoperative day 1, with perioperative interruption for surgery. Participants avoid other spicy foods during the intervention period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) Recovery Rate
Time Frame: From 24 to 120 hours after liver resection (postoperative days 1 to 5).

The postoperative ALT recovery rate is assessed using the decline in the natural logarithm of serum ALT between 24 and 120 hours after liver resection, expressed as a rate per 24 hours. Serum ALT is measured preoperatively and at 24 and 120 hours postoperatively. The preoperative measurement serves as the baseline reference.
From 24 to 120 hours after liver resection (postoperative days 1 to 5).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Tongji Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • TJ-202512181

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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