Curcumin / Turmeric:

Curcumin is the active ingredient of the Indian curry spice turmeric. It is a polyphenol with a molecular formula C21H20O6. Curcumin can exist in at least two tautomeric forms, keto and enol. The keto form is preferred in solid phase and the enol form in solution.

Curcumin is known for its antitumor, antioxidant, anti-amyloid and anti-inflammatory properties. For the last few decades, extensive work has been done to establish the biological activities and pharmacological actions of curcumin. Its anticancer effects stem from its ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells without cytotoxic effects on healthy cells. Curcumin can interfere with the activity of the transcription factor NF-kB, which is often highly overexpressed in many cancer cells, according to a talk given by Dr. Dennis Liotta at Davidson College in January 2006.

Curcumin is also used as a food coloring (it is what colors curry yellow). As a food additive, its E number is E100.

Modern Science Meets Ancient Faith

Modern scientists have examined these largely faith-based claims and have subjected them to rigorous testing over the last 50 years. Although few large-scale human trials have been completed, hundreds of experiments conducted by researchers around the globe have demonstrated curcumin’s ability to halt or prevent certain types of cancer, stop inflammation, improve cardiovascular health, prevent cataracts, kill or inhibit the toxic effects of certain microbes including fungi and dangerous parasites, and protect, at least in the laboratory, against the damaging effects of heterocyclic amines (potentially carcinogenic compounds found in some cooked foods). As one investigative team declared: “[Curcumin] has been proven to exhibit remarkable anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.

Cancer-Fighting Capabilities Documented

Numerous studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals detail curcumin’s ability to protect against cancer. In addition to its capacity to intervene in the initiation and growth of cancer cells and tumors and to prevent their subsequent spread throughout the body by metastasis. Curcumin also has been shown to increase cancer cells sensitivity to certain drugs commonly used to combat cancer, rendering chemotherapy more effective in some cases. Much research has focused on curcumin’s anti-inflammatory properties, and some new research suggests that curcumin may protect the heart and circulatory system, and prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Still other studies have examined curcumin’s potential ability to counteract the effects of fungal toxins in the food supply, and to protect the eyes from cataracts and uveitis, an inflammation of a portion of the eye that may result in glaucoma.

As an anticancer agent, curcumin is promising enough to warrant serious attention from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In its 2002 annual report, the Chemopreventive Agent Development Research Group, a subset of the NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention, details its efforts to encourage and support research on curcumin’s utility in cancer prevention and treatment. Because curcumin is a non-patentable product, such support is crucial, especially for research involving all-important human trials, as other sources of funding are virtually non-existent. At least one human trial, focusing on dosing, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetics (how curcumin is used, metabolized, and eliminated by the body), is under way at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Other curcumin studies have been proposed to the NIC and are awaiting approval.

Numerous experiments have shown that curcumin inhibits the progression of chemically induced colon and skin cancers. In colon cancer, in particular, curcumin seems to significantly inhibit both the promotional and progression stages of the disease. Various studies have reported that curcumin reduces the number and size of existing tumors, and decreases the incidence of new tumor formation.

Additionally, other studies using cancer cells grown in the laboratory in vitro have demonstrated curcumin’s ability to prompt apoptosis, or programmed cell death, among leukemia, B lymphoma, and other cancerous cells. Curcumin has been used as a topical application to successfully induce apoptosis in skin cancer cells both in vitro and in animal models. Curcumin is under investigation as a preventive agent for increasingly common non-melanoma skin cancers, and as a potential preventive or treatment agent in breast, prostate, oral, pancreatic, and gastric cancers, among others.1-21 One researcher understated the matter, noting, "curcumin should be considered for further development as [a] cancer preventive agent".

For more information regarding Curcumin: P.S.A. Rising

For more information regarding Curcumin: Linus Pauling Institute