Ginger Spice If you're diagnosed with a dangerous cancer that's frequently fatal and you tell your doctor you'd like to try treating it with a spice, you'll probably be met with a blank stare. In fact, this spice might work. To be honest, we're not technically talking about a spice. Curcumin is a pigment in turmeric root, an herb in the ginger family. Curry gets its spicy flavor from curcumin, which has been used for centuries by Indian Ayurvedic healers to treat indigestion, arthritis, and urinary tract disorders. More recently we've seen growing evidence that curcumin may also fight cancer. Cancer researcher Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D., believes that life-long curcumin intake may explain why the cancer mortality rate is unusually low in Sri Lanka where the typical diet delivers curcumin on a daily basis. According to Dr. Moss, curcumin is a natural anti- inflammatory, rich in antioxidants, and curbs tumor growth by inhibiting the development of tiny blood vessels that tumors require to thrive. In recent years, curcumin research has advanced from the laboratory (in a 2005 study curcumin prompted melanoma cancer cells to self-destruct), to animal studies (last year, curcumin was found to inhibit tumor growth in mice while also enhancing the effects of radiation therapy), and finally to a human trial in which this spicy root extract was tested in 25 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer - a disease that's almost always fatal. I can't help but wonder why researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas chose to test curcumin against such an aggressive cancer. Perhaps they intended to set the bar high so that virtually any successful response would show they were on the right track. And they did get a successful response. Modest, but successful. Each subject was given eight grams of Curcumin C3 Complex daily. Blood tests showed that bioavailability of the extract appears to be poor when given orally. But despite the limited absorption, the extract prompted clear biological activity in two subjects. In one of the subjects, the disease stabilized for more than 18 months. The second subject had "a brief, but marked, tumor regression." While curcumin obviously didn't produce a striking success, researchers say the extract appeared to exert a potent activity against a particularly virulent cancer, indicating that higher levels of curcumin need to be achieved. Further curcumin research is currently underway at the Anderson Center. The Anderson study actually provides some potentially useful product information for HSI members interested in trying curcumin, which may also improve cognitive function and help reduce Alzheimer's risk (see the e-Alert "Root It Out" 10/18/06). For their ongoing curcumin research, the Anderson team uses Curcumin C3 Complex, a turmeric root extract product, standardized for 95 percent of three curcuminoids. This product is manufactured by Sabinsa, a New Jersey company that has produced phytonutrients and herbal extracts for many years. You can find sources for Curcumin C3 Complex through several Internet sites. Note that this is not a recommendation. HSI has not tested or researched this product. Talk to your doctor or a healthcare professional before trying a curcumin supplement. Some people experience stomach upset and even ulcers with high doses of curcumin, although the extract was well tolerated in the Anderson study. Also, curcumin is known to thin the blood, so it should not be taken with anti-coagulants or anti-inflammatory drugs. Sources:
"Phase II Trial of Curcumin in Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer" Clinical Cancer Research Vol. 14, No. 14, 7/15/08, clincancerres.aacrjournals.org
"Historic Verdict slaps 'Smiling Bob' With 25-Year Jail Sentence" NutraIngredients- USA.com, 8/27/08, nutraingredients-usa.com
"Reporting Mortality Findings in Trials of Rofecoxib for Alzheimer Disease or Cognitive Impairment" Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 299, No. 15, 4/16/08, jama.ama-assn.org | 
