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Herb library · Spice · Capsicum annuum

Paprika

Ground dried red peppers of the mild, sweet kinds, used for color and flavor. It is the same species as cayenne but has little of the heat. The studies in people are of capsules of paprika's red pigments (xanthophylls), not the kitchen spice; they are small and mostly short. Adulterated paprika has poisoned people.

Serious warning

Paprika sold loose or from unknown sources has been adulterated. In 1994 in Hungary, ground paprika mixed with red lead (lead tetroxide) exposed 141 adults to lead, and 53 became ill with colic or anemia (J Toxicol Clin Toxicol, 1996).

Traditional use

Peppers came from the Americas to Europe in the 1500s, and ground red pepper became the national spice of Hungary and a staple of Spanish cooking, where it is also smoked (pimentón). Smoked, dried jalapeños of the same species are sold as chipotle. Paprika is used as a food and as a natural red coloring; extracts of its red pigments are sold in Japan as supplements.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Belly fat: in a 12-week randomized placebo-controlled trial in Japan (100 overweight adults), capsules of paprika xanthophylls (9 mg a day) shrank the belly fat area on CT scans more than placebo, with no side effects reported. It is one trial.

  • Limited· a lab measure, not a health outcome

    Bone: in a 24-week placebo-controlled trial of 100 postmenopausal women, a paprika carotenoid extract lowered one blood marker of bone breakdown but not the others, and bone strength and fractures were not measured.

  • Limited

    Skin and exercise: a 4-week single-blind trial found somewhat moister facial skin with paprika xanthophylls, and a small crossover study of 21 students found lower heart rates during exercise. The authors of the exercise study note it had no placebo group.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteBuy paprika from a source you trust. In Hungary in 1994, ground paprika adulterated with red lead poisoned people, and in Germany in 1993 about 1,000 people, mostly children, got salmonella from contaminated paprika and paprika-flavored chips.
  • AmountIn a 12-week safety study, 20 or 100 mg a day of paprika oleoresin caused no adverse events in blood or urine tests. Cooking amounts of the spice are food.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

Sources

  1. Effect of Oral Paprika Xanthophyll Intake on Abdominal Fat in Healthy Overweight Humans: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study (J Oleo Sci, 2018) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Effects of paprika carotenoid supplementation on bone turnover in postmenopausal women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparison study (Food Nutr Res, 2020) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Effects of Oral Supplementation with Paprika Xanthophylls on Human Skin Moisture (J Oleo Sci, 2022) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Effects of Paprika Xanthophyll Intake on Endurance and Cognitive Function in College Students: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial (Nutrients, 2025) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Safety Evaluation and Plasma Carotenoid Accumulation in Healthy Adult Subjects after 12 Weeks of Paprika Oleoresin Supplementation (J Oleo Sci, 2018) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. Lead intoxication epidemic caused by ingestion of contaminated ground paprika (J Toxicol Clin Toxicol, 1996) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  7. Nationwide outbreak of human salmonellosis in Germany due to contaminated paprika and paprika-powdered potato chips (Epidemiol Infect, 1995) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.