History Of The Turmeric Spice
Other Common Names: Curcumin, Curcuma, Curcuma longa
Range: Southern Asia. Cultivated in China, Bengal and Java.
The plant is a large-leaved herb, closely related to ginger. It is
cultivated in tropical countries for the thick, rounded, underground
stems or rhizomes, which constitute the spice, turmeric. Turmeric
contains an oil, which consists in part of curcumin, which on oxidation
is changed into vanillin, the active principle in vanilla. Curcumin is
the yellow pigment of turmeric. Curcumin is the ingredient which gives
curry its yellow color.
Turmeric is the key spice in curry. Curcumin has been used in both the Indian (Ayurvedic)
and Chinese Medicine systems for thousands of years. Curcumin studies
have shown it to possess the following properties: antioxidant,
anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, cholesterol - lowering antibacterial
and anti-fungal effects. It contains a mixture of powerful antioxidant
phytonutrients known as curcuminoids.
Turmeric is a mild spice. When curry is hot, that is due to other spices.
A recent paper listed the curcumin content of turmeric powder as about 0.6 percent.
Tumeric is a mild aromatic stimulant seldom used in medicine except
as a coloring. It was once a cure for jaundice. It is also used as an
adulterant of mustard (Commercial mustard usually combines white
mustard for pungency with black mustard for aroma, and the yellow color
is due to the addition of turmeric) and a substitute for it and forms
one of the ingredients of many cattle condiments. Tincture of Turmeric
is used as a coloring agent, but the odour is fugitive. It dyes a rich
yellow.
Curcumin shares some of the same effects on the liver as silymarin
and cynarin. It has demonstrated similar liver protection activity to
silymarin. Curcumin is believed to also be converted to a choleretic
compound, perhaps even caffeic acid. Curcumin's documented choleretic
effects support its historical use in treating liver and gallbladder
disorders. Like cynara extracts, curcumin has also been shown to lower
cholesterol levels.
Studies have shown that curcumin inhibits cancer at initiation,
promotion and progression stages of tumor development. Research in
Germany and India shows that curcumin can also help prevent gallbladder
disease. Bromelain is also recommended to aid absorption.
In March 1993, researchers at Harvard Medical School published
results of laboratory tests of a new method of screening for potential
AIDS drugs. They used genetically engineered cells to test for
inhibitors of the "LTR" (long terminal repeat) sequence in HIV; the LTR
is important for viral activation. The new test found three inhibitors;
one of them is curcumin, a chemical found in the food spice turmeric.
It was effective against HIV in both acutely and chronically infected
cells.
In Trinidad, about 40 percent of the population is of Indian
descent, and uses curry extensively in their diet. Another 40 percent
of the population is of African descent, and seldom uses curry. Several
years ago, studies of AIDS in Trinidad found that persons of African
descent were more than 10 times as likely to have the disease as
persons of Indian descent.
One reader of AIDS TREATMENT NEWS started using a turmeric extract
with a very high concentration of curcumin -- about 100 times the
concentration in ordinary turmeric -- which he obtained from a San
Francisco health-food store. A week after he started using it his
regularly scheduled blood tests showed a substantial drop in p24
antigen (a measure of viral activity). This unexpected change impressed
his physician, a leading AIDS specialist in San Francisco.
The product he used was supplied in capsules, each containing "300
mg. turmeric extract concentrated and standardized for a minimum of
preferred 95% curcumin" in a base of whole turmeric, according to the
label on the bottle. He took three capsules three times a day -- about
2.5 grams of curcumin per day, for a person who weighs about 100 kg.
This dose was chosen arbitrarily; it is considerably greater than the
amount of curcumin one would ordinarily get by eating curry, and we do
not know whether or not it is safe. Even for this large dose the cost
was low, about $2 per day retail in the U. S.
We mention this single case because it may be the first time that
anyone has taken curcumin as a potential treatment for HIV, and
compared viral-activity measurements before and after starting.
Curcumin is not soluble in water, and animal tests have found very
little of it in the bloodstream after it is eaten. Therefore, it would
seem that this chemical could not work as an oral drug. But other
researchers have reported much higher absorption -- as much as 60
percent or more. And in laboratory studies curcumin is often given to
animals in the diet, and various effects are noted.
This apparent contradiction is resolved by results of animal tests,
some with radioactive curcumin. Much of the radioactivity does reach
the blood and organs, even though the curcumin doesn't -- meaning that
the curcumin must have been changed into something else and absorbed in
a different form. The same team had earlier reported that about 60
percent of the curcumin was absorbed, since only about 40 percent of
the quantity administered was found remaining in the gut -- although
only traces were found in the blood. Another paper by the same group
concluded that "curcumin undergoes transformation during absorption
from the intestine," and noted an unidentified compound that it was
changed into. So the fact that chemists do not find curcumin in the
blood when they look for it does not rule out the possibility that oral
use could have biological effects.
Curcumin is being studied as an anti-inflammatory, as a possible
cancer inhibitor, and for other potential medical uses. It is a strong
anti-oxidant. A recent search of the Excerpta Medica database found
citations to 149 papers, abstracts, etc. which mention curcumin; the
word "curcumin" appears in the title of 74 of these. A review of some
possible medicinal uses of curcumin was published in 1991.
Curcumin and turmeric have long been in daily human use, and are
believed to have little toxicity in moderate doses. However, one group
found that large doses caused stomach ulcers in rats. A thorough
literature review is needed before large doses are used.
The information above is only suggestive, and does not show that
curcumin will have any use in treating AIDS. Most new drug or treatment
ideas fail, after later information shows that they are not useful. For
curcumin as for any new treatment, the odds are that it, too, will be
one of the failures.
But the possibility that curcumin or turmeric might be useful in
treating HIV or AIDS is so important that it must be studied further
without delay. Curcumin is known to be safe, at least in low and
moderate doses, and could be available to everyone. Also, in the
laboratory tests it was active against HIV not only in acutely infected
but also in chronically infected cells -- where the currently approved
drugs such as AZT are ineffective.
The next step in research should be to give a high but safe dose to
10 to 20 people for several weeks, and measure changes in viral
activity, either with the readily available p24 test, or with
sophisticated research tests such as quantitative PCR, or the branched
DNA assay. Both natural turmeric and concentrated curcumin should be
tested. If there is a dramatic decrease in viral activity in people
(like that seen in the single case so far), then this potential
treatment will receive plenty of attention. If there is little or no
decrease, then we can forget about curcumin (except as a possible lead
compound for drug development) and move on.
We do not know of anybody anywhere in the world doing such a study,
or making plans to do so, or otherwise following up on curcumin as a
possible AIDS treatment. This is not unusual; there has never been a
serious institutional effort to test such treatment leads in early
human trials. Medical research is expensive, and requires considerable
effort and resources to make anything happen. Those with the resources
-- mainly large pharmaceutical companies -- have little commercial or
professional incentive to test low-cost, non-proprietary treatments.
And government and non-profit research organizations have usually
failed to focus on the critical need for getting safe, inexpensive
treatment possibilities into small but credible tests for biological
activity in humans.
Turmeric paper is prepared by soaking unglazed white paper in the
tincture and then drying. Used as a test for alkaloids and boric acid.
See also GoldenSeal.html">Goldenseal (Turmeric root).
- Michael T. Murray, N.D. SILYMARIN COMPLEX FOR LIVER DISORDERS published in "Health World" spring 1987
- John S. James. Curcumin Update: Could Food Spice Be Low-Cost Antiviral? - AIDS Treatment News
- Li C.J., Zhang L.J., Dezube B.J., Crumpacker C.S., and Pardee A.B.
Three inhibitors of type 1 human immunodeficiency virus long terminal
repeat-directed gene expression and virus replication. PROCEEDINGS OF
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, USA. March 1993; volume 90, pages
1839-1842.
- Cleghorn F, Battoo K, Diaz C, Balbosa S, Jack N, Blattner W, and
Bartholomew C. Update on the epidemiology of AIDS in Trinidad.
International Conference on AIDS, San Francisco, June 20-23, 1990
- Satoskar R.R., Shah S.J., and Shenoy S.G. Evaluation of
anti-inflammatory property of curcumin (diferuloyl methane) in patients
with postoperative inflammation. INT. J. CLIN. PHARMACOL. THER.
TOXICOL. 1986; volume 24, number 12, pages 651- 654.
- Nagabhushan M. and Bhide S.V. Curcumin as an Inhibitor of Cancer.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF NUTRITION. 1992; volume 11, number
2, pages 192-198.
- Ammon H.P.T, and Wahl M.A. Pharmacology of Curcuma longa. PLANTA MEDICA. February 1991; volume 57, pages 1-7.
Other Common Names: Curcumin, Curcuma, Curcuma longa
Range: Southern Asia. Cultivated in China, Bengal and Java.
The plant is a large-leaved herb, closely related to ginger. It is
cultivated in tropical countries for the thick, rounded, underground
stems or rhizomes, which constitute the spice, turmeric. Turmeric
contains an oil, which consists in part of curcumin, which on oxidation
is changed into vanillin, the active principle in vanilla. Curcumin is
the yellow pigment of turmeric. Curcumin is the ingredient which gives
curry its yellow color.
Turmeric is the key spice in curry. Curcumin has been used in both the Indian (Ayurvedic)
and Chinese Medicine systems for thousands of years. Curcumin studies
have shown it to possess the following properties: antioxidant,
anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet, cholesterol - lowering antibacterial
and anti-fungal effects. It contains a mixture of powerful antioxidant
phytonutrients known as curcuminoids.
Turmeric is a mild spice. When curry is hot, that is due to other spices.
A recent paper listed the curcumin content of turmeric powder as about 0.6 percent.
Tumeric is a mild aromatic stimulant seldom used in medicine except
as a coloring. It was once a cure for jaundice. It is also used as an
adulterant of mustard (Commercial mustard usually combines white
mustard for pungency with black mustard for aroma, and the yellow color
is due to the addition of turmeric) and a substitute for it and forms
one of the ingredients of many cattle condiments. Tincture of Turmeric
is used as a coloring agent, but the odour is fugitive. It dyes a rich
yellow.
Curcumin shares some of the same effects on the liver as silymarin
and cynarin. It has demonstrated similar liver protection activity to
silymarin. Curcumin is believed to also be converted to a choleretic
compound, perhaps even caffeic acid. Curcumin's documented choleretic
effects support its historical use in treating liver and gallbladder
disorders. Like cynara extracts, curcumin has also been shown to lower
cholesterol levels.
Studies have shown that curcumin inhibits cancer at initiation,
promotion and progression stages of tumor development. Research in
Germany and India shows that curcumin can also help prevent gallbladder
disease. Bromelain is also recommended to aid absorption.
In March 1993, researchers at Harvard Medical School published
results of laboratory tests of a new method of screening for potential
AIDS drugs. They used genetically engineered cells to test for
inhibitors of the "LTR" (long terminal repeat) sequence in HIV; the LTR
is important for viral activation. The new test found three inhibitors;
one of them is curcumin, a chemical found in the food spice turmeric.
It was effective against HIV in both acutely and chronically infected
cells.
In Trinidad, about 40 percent of the population is of Indian
descent, and uses curry extensively in their diet. Another 40 percent
of the population is of African descent, and seldom uses curry. Several
years ago, studies of AIDS in Trinidad found that persons of African
descent were more than 10 times as likely to have the disease as
persons of Indian descent.
One reader of AIDS TREATMENT NEWS started using a turmeric extract
with a very high concentration of curcumin -- about 100 times the
concentration in ordinary turmeric -- which he obtained from a San
Francisco health-food store. A week after he started using it his
regularly scheduled blood tests showed a substantial drop in p24
antigen (a measure of viral activity). This unexpected change impressed
his physician, a leading AIDS specialist in San Francisco.
The product he used was supplied in capsules, each containing "300
mg. turmeric extract concentrated and standardized for a minimum of
preferred 95% curcumin" in a base of whole turmeric, according to the
label on the bottle. He took three capsules three times a day -- about
2.5 grams of curcumin per day, for a person who weighs about 100 kg.
This dose was chosen arbitrarily; it is considerably greater than the
amount of curcumin one would ordinarily get by eating curry, and we do
not know whether or not it is safe. Even for this large dose the cost
was low, about $2 per day retail in the U. S.
We mention this single case because it may be the first time that
anyone has taken curcumin as a potential treatment for HIV, and
compared viral-activity measurements before and after starting.
Curcumin is not soluble in water, and animal tests have found very
little of it in the bloodstream after it is eaten. Therefore, it would
seem that this chemical could not work as an oral drug. But other
researchers have reported much higher absorption -- as much as 60
percent or more. And in laboratory studies curcumin is often given to
animals in the diet, and various effects are noted.
This apparent contradiction is resolved by results of animal tests,
some with radioactive curcumin. Much of the radioactivity does reach
the blood and organs, even though the curcumin doesn't -- meaning that
the curcumin must have been changed into something else and absorbed in
a different form. The same team had earlier reported that about 60
percent of the curcumin was absorbed, since only about 40 percent of
the quantity administered was found remaining in the gut -- although
only traces were found in the blood. Another paper by the same group
concluded that "curcumin undergoes transformation during absorption
from the intestine," and noted an unidentified compound that it was
changed into. So the fact that chemists do not find curcumin in the
blood when they look for it does not rule out the possibility that oral
use could have biological effects.
Curcumin is being studied as an anti-inflammatory, as a possible
cancer inhibitor, and for other potential medical uses. It is a strong
anti-oxidant. A recent search of the Excerpta Medica database found
citations to 149 papers, abstracts, etc. which mention curcumin; the
word "curcumin" appears in the title of 74 of these. A review of some
possible medicinal uses of curcumin was published in 1991.
Curcumin and turmeric have long been in daily human use, and are
believed to have little toxicity in moderate doses. However, one group
found that large doses caused stomach ulcers in rats. A thorough
literature review is needed before large doses are used.
The information above is only suggestive, and does not show that
curcumin will have any use in treating AIDS. Most new drug or treatment
ideas fail, after later information shows that they are not useful. For
curcumin as for any new treatment, the odds are that it, too, will be
one of the failures.
But the possibility that curcumin or turmeric might be useful in
treating HIV or AIDS is so important that it must be studied further
without delay. Curcumin is known to be safe, at least in low and
moderate doses, and could be available to everyone. Also, in the
laboratory tests it was active against HIV not only in acutely infected
but also in chronically infected cells -- where the currently approved
drugs such as AZT are ineffective.
The next step in research should be to give a high but safe dose to
10 to 20 people for several weeks, and measure changes in viral
activity, either with the readily available p24 test, or with
sophisticated research tests such as quantitative PCR, or the branched
DNA assay. Both natural turmeric and concentrated curcumin should be
tested. If there is a dramatic decrease in viral activity in people
(like that seen in the single case so far), then this potential
treatment will receive plenty of attention. If there is little or no
decrease, then we can forget about curcumin (except as a possible lead
compound for drug development) and move on.
We do not know of anybody anywhere in the world doing such a study,
or making plans to do so, or otherwise following up on curcumin as a
possible AIDS treatment. This is not unusual; there has never been a
serious institutional effort to test such treatment leads in early
human trials. Medical research is expensive, and requires considerable
effort and resources to make anything happen. Those with the resources
-- mainly large pharmaceutical companies -- have little commercial or
professional incentive to test low-cost, non-proprietary treatments.
And government and non-profit research organizations have usually
failed to focus on the critical need for getting safe, inexpensive
treatment possibilities into small but credible tests for biological
activity in humans.
Turmeric paper is prepared by soaking unglazed white paper in the
tincture and then drying. Used as a test for alkaloids and boric acid.
See also GoldenSeal.html">Goldenseal (Turmeric root).
- Michael T. Murray, N.D. SILYMARIN COMPLEX FOR LIVER DISORDERS published in "Health World" spring 1987
- John S. James. Curcumin Update: Could Food Spice Be Low-Cost Antiviral? - AIDS Treatment News
- Li C.J., Zhang L.J., Dezube B.J., Crumpacker C.S., and Pardee A.B.
Three inhibitors of type 1 human immunodeficiency virus long terminal
repeat-directed gene expression and virus replication. PROCEEDINGS OF
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, USA. March 1993; volume 90, pages
1839-1842.
- Cleghorn F, Battoo K, Diaz C, Balbosa S, Jack N, Blattner W, and
Bartholomew C. Update on the epidemiology of AIDS in Trinidad.
International Conference on AIDS, San Francisco, June 20-23, 1990
- Satoskar R.R., Shah S.J., and Shenoy S.G. Evaluation of
anti-inflammatory property of curcumin (diferuloyl methane) in patients
with postoperative inflammation. INT. J. CLIN. PHARMACOL. THER.
TOXICOL. 1986; volume 24, number 12, pages 651- 654.
- Nagabhushan M. and Bhide S.V. Curcumin as an Inhibitor of Cancer.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF NUTRITION. 1992; volume 11, number
2, pages 192-198.
- Ammon H.P.T, and Wahl M.A. Pharmacology of Curcuma longa. PLANTA MEDICA. February 1991; volume 57, pages 1-7.
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