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Plant Cures
"Tumeric Max" The volatile oil fraction of turmeric has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity in a variety of experimental models. Even more potent than its volatile oil is the yellow or orange pigment of turmeric, which is called curcumin. Curcumin is thought to be the primary pharmacological agent in turmeric. In numerous studies, curcumin's anti-inflammatory effects have been shown to be comparable to the potent drugs hydrocortisone and phenylbutazone as well as over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agents such as Motrin. Unlike the drugs, which are associated with significant toxic effects (ulcer formation, decreased white blood cell count, intestinal bleeding), curcumin produces no toxicity. Please note: Plant
Cures makes no claims, however In India (Where turmeric is widely
used) the prevalence of four common U.S. cancers -- colon, breast,
prostate and lung -- is 10 times lower. In fact, prostate cancer, which is
the most frequently diagnosed cancer in U.S. men, is very rare in
India.
Many
studies have taken place to this potential cancer-fighting link.
The results are quite promising as they have found curcumin to:
Inhibit
the proliferation of tumor cells, inhibit the transformation of cells from
normal to tumor, help your body destroy mutated cancer cells so they
cannot spread throughout your body Decrease inflammation, enhance liver
function, Inhibit the synthesis of a protein thought to be instrumental in
tumor formation, and prevent the development of additional blood supply
necessary for cancer cell growth. Curcumin may provide an
inexpensive, well-tolerated, and effective treatment for inflammatory
bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, recent
research suggests. In this study, mice given an inflammatory agent that
normally induces colitis were protected when curcumin was added to their
diet five days beforehand. The mice receiving curcumin not only lost much
less weight than the control animals, but when researchers checked their
intestinal cell function, all the signs typical of colitis (mucosal
ulceration, thickening of the intestinal wall, and the infiltration of
inflammatory cells)were all much reduced. While the researchers are not
yet sure exactly how curcumin achieves its protective effects, they think
its benefits are the result of not only antioxidant activity, but also
inhibition of a major cellular inflammatory agent called NF kappa-B. Plus,
an important part of the good news reported in this study is the fact that
although curcumin has been found to be safe at very large doses, this
component of turmeric was effective at a concentration as low as 0.25 per
cent-an amount easily supplied by simply enjoying turmeric in flavorful
curries.
Relief for Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical studies have substantiated that curcumin also exerts very powerful antioxidant effects. As an antioxidant, curcumin is able to neutralize free radicals, chemicals that can travel through the body and cause great amounts of damage to healthy cells and cell membranes. This is important in many diseases, such as arthritis, where free radicals are responsible for the painful joint inflammation and eventual damage to the joints. Turmeric's combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects explains why many people with joint disease find relief when they use the spice regularly. In a recent study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, curcumin was compared to phenylbutazone and produced comparable improvements in shortened duration of morning stiffness, lengthened walking time, and reduced joint swelling. Help for Cystic Fibrosis Sufferers Curcumin, the major constituent of turmeric that gives the spice its yellow color, can correct the most common expression of the genetic defect that is responsible for cystic fibrosis, suggests an animal study published in the Science (April 2004). Cystic fibrosis, a fatal disease that attacks the lungs with a thick mucus, causing life-threatening infections, afflicts about 30,000 American children and young adults, who rarely survive beyond 30 years of age. The mucus also damages the pancreas, thus interfering with the body-ability to digest and absorb nutrients. Researchers now know that cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes for a protein (the transmembrane conductance regulator or CFTR). The CTFR protein is responsible for traveling to the cell-surface and creating channels through which chloride ions can leave the cell. When the protein is abnormally shaped because of a faulty gene, this cannot happen, so chloride builds up in the cells, which in turn, leads to mucus production. The most
common mutation, which is called DeltaF508, results in the production of a
misfolded protein. When mice with this DeltaF508 defect were given
curcumin in doses that, on a weight-per-weight basis, would be
well-tolerated by humans, curcumin corrected this defect, resulting in a
DeltaF508 protein with normal appearance and function. In addition, the
Yale scientists studying curcumin have shown that it can inhibit the
release of calcium, thus allowing mutated CTFR to exit cells via the
calcium channels, which also helps stop the chloride-driven build up of
mucus. Specialists in the treatment of cystic fibrosis caution, however,
that patients should not self-medicate with dietary supplements containing
curcumin, until the correct doses are known and any adverse interactions
identified with the numerous prescription drugs taken by cystic fibrosis
sufferers. |