Can eggplant and green pepper cure/prevent cancer? No, that's not true: there is no significant correlation between intake of those vegetables and cancer risk.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by @health.orm on TikTok, on September 12, 2023, under the title "가지 먹을 때 이것 넣으면 암세포가 사라집니다" "If you put this in your eggplant plate, cancer cells will disappear" (Translated from Korean by Lead Stories Staff). It opened:
Today, I will make eggplant dish that maximises anti-cancer effect.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Sep 25 03:37:44 2023 UTC)
The video introduces a steamed eggplant and green pepper recipe, claiming it can cure/prevent cancer. It stresses the anticancer effect of anthocyanin, which makes eggplant violet. Even though there is a research suggesting anthocyanin can be beneficial to treat cancer, it says 'further rigorous scientific investigation and more clinical proof are required' to use it as a cancer treatment.
Even though polyphenols in eggplant can be potentially beneficial to prevent/cure cancer, it does not mean you can prevent/cure cancer by eating steamed eggplants and green pepper. There was no significant correlation between colorectal cancer risk and solanaceous vegetables and consumption of chili peppers is positively related to gastric cancer risk.
