Curcumin is the metabolite that's responsible for the yellow colour of the spice, tumeric. It can be used for food colouring (it's E number is E100), to quantify boron 1, and to treat a number of ailments.
The first research on curcumin looked at its antibacterial properties 2, and since then researchers have looked at its antioxidant properties 3, its use as an antirheumatic 4, a potential cholesterol-lowering role for it 5 and many other medicinal applications.
Recently a group in Canada investigated the effect of tumeric on cancer treatment.6 Previous research showed that curcumin also has an anti-cancer effect, but these researchers wanted to know if curcumin given in addition to standard chemotherapy could improve the efficacy of the treatment while keeping side-effects to a minimum. The researchers found that the combined treatment worked at lower doses than monotherapy; that non-cancerous cells remained unaffected; and that cancer cells still responded to the treatment even after the drugs were removed.
Many people scoff at the idea of "natural therapies", but it is important to remember that aspirin was originally made from willow bark. Tumeric might be the next aspirin!
1Roth HJ, Miller B. On the color reaction between boric acid and curcumin. I. Boric acid-curcumin complexes. Arch Pharm (Weinheim)297:617-23 (1964)
2SCHRAUFSTATTER E, BERNT H. Antibacterial action of curcumin and related compounds. Nature. 164(4167):456 (1949)
3 Sharma OP. Antioxidant activity of curcumin and related compounds. Biochem Pharmacol. 25:1811-2 (1976)
4Deodhar SD, Sethi R, Srimal RC. Preliminary study on antirheumatic activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane). Indian J Med Res. 71:632-4 (1980)
5Soudamini KK, Unnikrishnan MC, Soni KB, Kuttan R. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation and cholesterol levels in mice by curcumin. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 36:239-43 (1992)
6
Chatterjee SJ, Pandey S. Chemo-resistant melanoma sensitized by tamoxifen to low dose curcumin treatment through induction of apoptosis and autophagy. Cancer Biol Ther. 2011 Jan 29;11(2). [Epub ahead of print]
The first research on curcumin looked at its antibacterial properties 2, and since then researchers have looked at its antioxidant properties 3, its use as an antirheumatic 4, a potential cholesterol-lowering role for it 5 and many other medicinal applications.
Recently a group in Canada investigated the effect of tumeric on cancer treatment.6 Previous research showed that curcumin also has an anti-cancer effect, but these researchers wanted to know if curcumin given in addition to standard chemotherapy could improve the efficacy of the treatment while keeping side-effects to a minimum. The researchers found that the combined treatment worked at lower doses than monotherapy; that non-cancerous cells remained unaffected; and that cancer cells still responded to the treatment even after the drugs were removed.
Many people scoff at the idea of "natural therapies", but it is important to remember that aspirin was originally made from willow bark. Tumeric might be the next aspirin!
1Roth HJ, Miller B. On the color reaction between boric acid and curcumin. I. Boric acid-curcumin complexes. Arch Pharm (Weinheim)297:617-23 (1964)
2SCHRAUFSTATTER E, BERNT H. Antibacterial action of curcumin and related compounds. Nature. 164(4167):456 (1949)
3 Sharma OP. Antioxidant activity of curcumin and related compounds. Biochem Pharmacol. 25:1811-2 (1976)
4Deodhar SD, Sethi R, Srimal RC. Preliminary study on antirheumatic activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane). Indian J Med Res. 71:632-4 (1980)
5Soudamini KK, Unnikrishnan MC, Soni KB, Kuttan R. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation and cholesterol levels in mice by curcumin. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 36:239-43 (1992)
6
Chatterjee SJ, Pandey S. Chemo-resistant melanoma sensitized by tamoxifen to low dose curcumin treatment through induction of apoptosis and autophagy. Cancer Biol Ther. 2011 Jan 29;11(2). [Epub ahead of print]
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