Beneficial Effects From Curcumin When you're puzzling over menu options, here's one more reason to order that curry dish… Curcumin is a yellow pigment in the root of turmeric, an herb in the ginger family. Curry gets its distinct color and flavor from curcumin, which was used by Indian Ayurvedic healers for thousands of years to treat a variety of ailments, including indigestion, jaundice, arthritis, and urinary tract disorders. A recent issue of the journal Cancer reports on a study from the University of Texas where researchers treated melanoma cell lines with curcumin, which caused cell function to decrease. Various concentrations of curcumin also prompted tumor cell apoptosis (self destruction of cancer cells) by suppressing proteins that prevent apoptosis. This isn't the first time we've seen beneficial effects from curcumin. In previous e-Alerts I've told you how this pigment may also inhibit angiogenesis; the process by which cancer cells thrive by creating tiny blood vessels. And curcumin may also help prevent dementia. In recent years, studies have shown that curcumin's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may be powerful enough to break up the amyloid plaques in the brain that contribute to Alzheimer's disease. The rate of Alzheimer's in India (where turmeric is widely consumed) is among the lowest in the world. Sources:
"Turmeric Slows Melanoma Growth in Lab Study" NutraIngredients.com, 7/11/05, nutraingredients.com
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