Turmeric - the miracle spice from India.

Recent Research bears out that Turmeric may not only slow down the process of Alzheimer's and may even prevent the disease when used regularly as a dietary supplement.

The Wonders of Turmeric

Turmeric is one of the most widely used herbs in Ayurvedic medicine and has a long history of dietary and herbal medicinal use. It is reputed as a body cleanser due to its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action. Modern science is discovering a growing list of diseased conditions which turmeric is able to improve or heal.

In Asian countries turmeric is used as a common spice for everyday cooking for good reason. It has been determined that one of turmeric’s main constituents, curcumin, protects the stomach against tainted food. According to a University of Chicago study by researchers, curcumin inhibits a cancer-provoking bacteria (H. pylor) associated with gastric colon cancer (Magad GB,Anticancer Res. 2002 Nov-Dec;22(6C):4179-81

Heliobacter pylori is believed to infect about 40 to 50 % of the world’s population. It is contracted through contaminated food or water and can be transmitted from person to person by intimate contact such as kissing by exchange of saliva. These bacteria survive in the stomach’s acid by exuding urease, an enzyme that produces ammonia, which neutralizes the acid. The bacteria are able to bore through the gastric and duodenal mucus membrane attaching themselves to underlying epithelial cells. They cause gastritis (an inflammation of the mucus membrane) and contribute to ulcer formation by thinning the mucus membrane and infecting nearby cells with their toxins. H. pylori infection is considered to be the cause of gastritis, peptic ulcer, and a major contributing factor to gastric colon cancer.

Turmeric alone (or associated with gum Mastic, Pistacia lenticus L.for herbal synergy) acts to eliminate H. pylori.

Modern western researchers have found that turmeric is:

• An Antioxidant
• Has Anti-inflammatory qualities
• Produces Anti-cancer activity
• It is Antimicrobial
• Has Anti HIV properties
• May slow down the development of Alzheimer’s

Cancer

Research has shown that Turmeric has anticancer effects in all stages of the disease’s development. Turmeric can inhibit the development of cancer and promote cancer regression. The spice acts in two ways: it has its own antioxidant and free radical-scavenging effects and enhances the body’s natural antioxidant system."USA Weekend" reports:

http://www.usaweekend.com/02_issues, November10,2002:

"The yellow spice turmeric, a constituent of curry powder, contains high concentrations of the potent antioxidant curcumin. New tests suggest curcumin helps stifle cancer. In test tubes, 80% of malignant prostate cells self-destructed when exposed to curcumin. Feeding mice curcumin dramatically slowed the growth of implanted human prostate cancer cells. It may do the same in breast and colon cancer cells, researchers say, speculating that curcumin blocks the activation of genes that trigger cancer." In their latest of a series of reports the M. D. Anderson say: "Curcumin can suppress tumor initiation, promotion and metastasis. Pharmacologically, curcumin has been found to be safe. Human clinical trials indicated no dose-limiting toxicity when administered at doses up to 10 g/day. All of these studies suggest that curcumin has enormous potential in the prevention and therapy of cancer." [Aggarwal, BB et al, Anticancer Res. 2003 Jan-Feb;23(1A):363-98] (However, if you are taking medications or undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy to treat cancer, be extremely cautious about possible interactions and effects of turmeric/curcumin on your liver and other organs. Talk to your oncologist and oncology nurse. A recent study, available free online, finds that curcumin inhibits desired effects of chemotherapy for breast cancer: (Cancer Research 62, 3868-3875, July 1, 2002) Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties of turmeric and curcumin are undergoing intense research. Tests in Germany, reported July 2003, found that "All fractions of the turmeric extract preparation exhibited pronounced antioxidant activity...." Turmeric extract tested more potent than garlic, devil’s claw, and salmon oil [ J Pharm Pharmacol. 2003 Jul;55(7):981-6].On October 15, 2002, a similar report was released by Oxford University in the UK. In other news, Dr. Hideki Hidaka from Kumamoto University in Japan reported the discovery of a compound in curcumin that may suppress production of a protein (interleukin-8) that spurs tumor growth in the body. This protein attracts white blood cells to a particular site, leading to inflammation. Additional research will be needed to determine what role this protein and similar ones play in promoting tumor growth and suppressing the immune system.

Anti-inflammation

Turmeric, its main constituent curcumin, and its volatile oil all possess anti-inflammatory properties. In general, Turmeric is comparable to cortisone as an anti-inflammatory. Its advantage is that is has virtually no toxicity. For this purpose it can be used topically and internally. Traditionally it has been used externally by mixing Turmeric with slake lime (Calcium hydroxide) which produces Sodium curcuminate. This is a household remedy for sprains, muscular pain, and inflamed joints. Taken internally in capsules or mixed with food or drink, it is very effective for all inflammations.

Cardiovascular effects

The effects of Turmeric on the cardiovascular system include lowering of cholesterol levels and Inhibition of platelet aggregation. This helps prevent atherosclerosis and its complications.

Liver

Turmeric exhibits liver protection properties because of its potent antioxidant properties. It is traditionally used for liver disorders. It may be used with organic licorice extract to form a powerful synergy for liver protection and rejuvenation.

Alzheimer’s

In India, only 1% of those aged 65 and older contracting this degenerative brain condition. Many scientific reports point towards the lavish use of Turmeric in various preparations, such as curries or especially kitchari, which is the staple diet for millions in the Indian subcontinent.

Curcumin’s anti-inflammatory activity indeed reduces arthritic swelling and progressive brain damage in animals. In UCLA research, eating food laced with low doses of curcumin slashed Alzheimer’s-like plaque in the brains of mice by 50%.

In the scientific study of Frautschy it is said that curcumin found in curry has "a long history of dietary and herbal medicinal use" and is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.

In her study, Frautschy fed middle-aged (9 months old) and aged (22 months old) rats diets rich in curcumin. All of the rats had received brain injections of amyloid to mimic progressive Alzheimer’s disease. "Curcumin reduced the accumulation of beta-amyloid and the associated loss of proteins" in the synapses, or gaps, between individual brain cells, Frautschy reported. "Synapses connect nerve cells and are crucial for memory," the California researcher explained. Keeping synapses free of plaque is important because "their loss correlates well with memory decline in Alzheimer’s." This type of memory preservation may have been reflected in the fact that rats fed curcumin also performed much better in memory-dependent maze tests compared with rats on normal diets, according to Frautschy.

Curcumin also appeared to reduce Alzheimer’s-related inflammation in neurologic tissue. Because "a combined anti-inflammatory and antioxidant approach will be useful for Alzheimer’s prevention or treatment," Frautschy speculates that curcumin could be especially valuable in the fight against the disease, especially in combination with anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. Her team is hopeful they will soon receive funding for clinical trials to investigate curcumin-ibuprofen combination therapy. Curcumin may not be the only compound in the kitchen spice rack able to ward off Alzheimer’s. In an interview with Reuters

Health, Frautschy said that "chemicals from rosemary (rosmarinic acid) and ginger (vanillin and zingerone, also high in Indian diets) have similar structure and should be tested." Curcumin also appeared to reduce Alzheimer’s-related inflammation in neurologic tissue. Because "a combined anti-inflammatory and antioxidant approach will be useful for Alzheimer’s prevention or treatment," Frautschy speculates that curcumin could be especially valuable in the fight against the disease, especially in combination with anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen.

Her team is hopeful they will soon receive funding for clinical trials to investigate curcumin-ibuprofen combination therapy. Curcumin may not be the only compound in the kitchen spice rack able to ward off Alzheimer’s. In an interview with Reuters Health, Frautschy said that "chemicals from rosemary (rosmarinic acid) and ginger (vanillin and zingerone, also high in Indian diets) have similar structure and should be tested."

Arthritis

A study was conducted among patients with rheumatoid arthritis to compare turmeric (1200 milligrams per day) to phenylbutazone (300 milligrams a day). The results showed that the improvements in the duration of morning stiffness, walking time, and joint swelling were comparable in both groups. Turmeric has a great advantage because it does not produce any adverse side effects, whereas phenylbutazone has significant ones.

Anti-aging

Aging effects are compared by some researchers to "caramelization" or more scientifically named, "glycation." It occurs when sugar and protein bind together under the body’s own heat and gum up vital organs. There are some researchers who believe that cooked foods that are browned and caramelized – such as baked goods, glazed meats and roasted coffee – may also contribute to the effect.

Glycation occurs at a faster rate in the body when blood sugar levels are elevated, as in diabetes. Further, avoiding foods rich in glycotoxins, such as foods cooked at high temperatures for long periods of time, may prove beneficial to people with vascular and kidney disease, high blood pressure and to the elderly.

Turmeric appears to cut down on the cross linking of tissue and glycose. Therefore, regularly including turmeric in our diet or as a supplement may help slow the process of aging and promote youthfulness.

Potent Spice Works To Block Growth Of Melanoma

Curcumin, the pungent yellow spice found in both turmeric and curry powders, blocks a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers, say researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The study, to be published in the August 15, 2005 issue of the journal Cancer, but available on line at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on Monday, July 11, demonstrates how curcumin stops laboratory strains of melanoma from proliferating and pushes the cancer cells to commit suicide.

It does this, researchers say, by shutting down nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a powerful protein known to promote an abnormal inflammatory response that leads to a variety of disorders, including arthritis and cancer.

The study is the latest to suggest that curcumin has potent anticancer powers, say the researchers.

"The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties of curcumin derived from turmeric are undergoing intense research here and at other places worldwide," says one of the study’s authors, Bharat B. Aggarwal, Ph.D., professor of cancer medicine in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics.

At M. D. Anderson, for example, dramatic results from laboratory studies have led to two ongoing Phase I human clinical trials, testing the ability of daily capsules of curcumin powder to retard growth of pancreatic cancer and multiple myeloma. Another Phase I trial is planned for patients with breast cancer, and given this news of curcumin’s activity in melanoma, animal studies will soon begin, Aggarwal says.

Ground from the root of the Curcuma longa plant, curcumin is a member of the ginger family. It has long been utilized in India and other Asian nations for multiple uses: as a food-preservative, a coloring agent, a folk medicine to cleanse the body, and as a spice to flavor food (two to five percent of turmeric is curcumin, for example).

While researchers had thought curcumin primarily has anti-inflammatory properties, the growing realization that cancer can result from inflammation has spurred mounting interest in the spice as an anti-cancer agent, Aggarwal says. He adds that another fact has generated further excitement: "The incidence of the top four cancers in the U.S. - colon, breast, prostate, and lung - is ten times lower in India," he says.

This work is just the latest by M. D. Anderson researchers to show how curcumin can inhibit cancer growth. "Curcumin affects virtually every tumor biomarker that we have tried," says Aggarwal. "It works through a variety of mechanisms related to cancer development. We, and others, previously found that curcumin down regulates EGFR activity that mediates tumor cell proliferation, and VEGF that is involved in angiogenesis. Besides inhibiting NF-kB, curcumin was also found to suppress STAT3 pathway that is also involved in tumorigenesis. Both these pathways play a central role in cell survival and proliferation."

He said that an ability to suppress numerous biological routes to cancer development is important if an agent is to be effective. "Cells look at everything in a global way, and inhibiting just one pathway will not be effective," says Aggarwal.

In this study, the researchers treated three different melanoma cell lines with curcumin and assessed the activity of NF-kB, as well the protein, known as "IKK" that switches NF-kB "on." The spice kept both proteins from being activated, so worked to stop growth of the melanoma, and it also induced "apoptosis," or programmed death, in the cells.

Surprisingly, it didn’t matter how much curcumin was used, says the researchers. "The NF-kB machinery is suppressed by both short exposures to high concentrations of curcumin as well as by longer exposure to lower concentrations of curcumin," they say in their study. Given that other studies have shown curcumin is non-toxic, these results should be followed by a test of the spice in both animal models of melanoma and in human trials, they say.

BBC News: Curry ‘may slow Alzheimer’s’ (Wednesday, 21 November, 2001, 16:33 GMT)

A spicy ingredient of many curries may be an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, say researchers.

A team from the University of California at Los Angeles believes that turmeric may play a role in slowing down the progression of the neurodegenerative disease.

The finding may help to explain why rates of Alzheimer’s are much lower among the elderly in India than in their Western peers.

Previous studies have found that Alzheimer’s affects just 1% of people over the age of 65 living in some Indian villages.

Drugs with similar properties could potentially be used as preventative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Turmeric is found in everything from mild Kormas to the hottest Vindaloos. The crucial chemical is curcumin, a compound found in the spice.

Alzheimer’s is linked to the build up of knots in the brain called amyloid plaques.

• Turmeric reduced the number of these plaques by a half.
• The researchers also found that turmeric had other health benefits.
• It aids digestion, helps fight infection and guards against heart attacks.
• In the study, middle aged and aged rats were fed a diet rich in curcumin.
• All the rats received brain injections of amyloid to mimic progressive Alzheimer’s disease.

Not only was there less evidence of plaque build up in the curcumin-fed rats, they also outperformed rats on normal diets when carrying out maze-based memory tests.

Curcumin also appeared to reduce Alzheimer’s-related inflammation in the brain tissue.

Researcher Dr Sally Frautschy said the compound had potential as a treatment for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease - particularly in tandem with anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen.

Dr Richard Harvey, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said:

"Curcumin has both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. "Drugs with similar properties could potentially be used as preventative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease."

However, Dr Harvey warned that it could be many years before such drugs were made widely available.