Curcumin/Turmeric Root Extract 95%

Note: curcumin can thin the blood. Please talk to your doctor before taking curcumin.

Can Turmeric Relieve Pain? One Doctors Opinion  (excerpt from TIME magazine Saturday July 11, 2009)
By Dr. Scott Haig

Four in the morning, four more at night. That's eight big, mustard-yellow capsules every day. They contain nothing but turmeric, a spice. But for Jerry they are medicine. He loves the stuff — says it changed his life.

Now this sort of thing is not uncommon; I'd guess 20 to 30 percent of my patients are into some type of supplements or "nutriceuticals." But Jerry stands out. He's a conservative, older guy from that generation of men who were most definitely not 'in touch with their bodies'. He's practical, worldly wise and skeptical. He's not interested in any other remedies or practices (Monogamy in the supplement world is a true rarity, and it commands respect there too.) He has, in fact, gotten so many friends and acquaintances to use the stuff that it's sold out of the stores where he buys it.
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But what got me interested in Jerry's turmeric wasn't his testimonials or even his personality — it was seeing him bounce back from surgery.

Jerry had two bad hips; the joints didn't form quite right as he grew up. They degenerated and started to hurt as he entered his sixties. When he first started coming to me, I gave him the usual anti-inflammatory medications we use for arthritis pain. He had no side effects, but he wasn't helped much either, so he stopped the pills and lived with the pain. Then he found turmeric.
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Soon enough, there was no pain at all. And his lower back and hands, which ached before, were also now pain-free. So I was curious last year, at age 73, when he came in and told me he was ready for a hip replacement. "It's just so stiff" is all he would say. He certainly had the limp, the trouble with stairs and the slow rise from a chair that you see in folks with hip arthritis. His x-ray showed the bone-on-bone erosion and plenty of spurring; his examination showed the profound loss of motion you would also expect. Everything said "just do a hip replacement" — except for that one, cardinal feature — pain.

He denied it. Even when I did the twisting maneuver we use to see if it's the hip that hurts, there was no wince, no ouch. I had never done the operation for anyone without pain. I explained this. And as reasonable a person as he is, he still wanted a new hip, "to get rid of the stiffness."

Some kind of denial going on here, was all I could think. I made sure he knew full well what the surgery would entail. He still wanted it. So I did the operation. "Can I keep up with the turmeric in the hospital?" he asked. I saw no reason why not. That's when I actually saw the big yellow capsules, on his bedside table. And when I first gave them any serious thought.

Now alternative medicine doctors and orthopedic surgeons are miles apart on what eating plants can actually fix. Scurvy, nightblindness, constipation and... oh — hunger, are the problems they tell us plants can cure in medical school. Psychosomatic factors are said to underlie all the other "benefits." But I looked and found two well-done scientific papers studying the effects of turmeric on a group of patients who I thought should be far less likely to be affected by psychosomatic factors. Because they were rats.

At the University of Arizona, researchers led by endocrinologist Janet Funk injected a bacterial substance known to cause joint inflammation (which is what arthritis ultimately is) into the bellies of the rodents. If they gave them turmeric first (also by injection into the abdomen) there was far less joint swelling produced. A specific active ingredient of the turmeric worked better still. A rigorous protocol and convincing pictures of the rats' normal and swollen joints convinced me there was a real effect. Further experiments by the group even showed how turmeric turns down inflammation, by blocking production of the protein that turns on the gene that tells tiny blood vessels to grow.

And you just can't research food supplements without bumping into the affable Dr. Andrew Weil (also from Arizona). Yes, he has a dog in the fight, with a financial interest in turmeric-containing products, which have, he strongly claims, benefits ranging from fighting Alzheimers, to breast cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and psoriasis. Too many to be true? Maybe. But I also know this: all of these diseases, like Jerry's arthritis, share a common need: they depend on the formation of new blood vessels — basically, on specific local instances of inflammation. And that's what Janet Funk's papers showed the turmeric controls. Between Funk and Weill, what I had seen in Jerry was starting to make sense. But it wasn't the papers that convinced me. It was how Jerry did in the hospital.

Jerry was a post-op marvel. There are some patients in their 70s who surprise us with how quickly they recover from an operation. And yes, we did it the "minimally invasive" way. But Jerry outperformed them all. A week post-op he walked in without a cane, without a limp, got up from a chair faster than I can and showed me a healed surgical wound that looked a month old. The "stiffness" was gone; he now had normal range of motion. Jerry was quite pleased — happy with my job — but there was also an air of pride or confidence, perhaps victory, about him. He was just so convinced that he had been eased, and sped, through the healing process by turmeric.

I still chalked it up, then at least, to psychology. This worked fine until about six weeks ago, when we did his other hip. He got better even faster. Home the second day. No pain meds. Lots of yellow capsules on the table. I decided to get some for myself.

All doctors, or at least, in my opinion, the good ones, utilize a curious faculty, little discussed, called empathy. Is it real? Can one human truly feel what another feels? The answer to this lurks in deep waters; the scientific reality of any human sensation is largely unprovable. There are many professional benefits to feeling what your patient feels though: empathy breaks through communication barriers. It often makes patients like you. Sometimes it can tell you when they're lying. In Jerry's case it told me this for sure: his hip didn't hurt. But was it mental or physical?

I have since experimented with my own aches and pains. We already had some tumeric in the kitchen. It's pretty good on pizza, a mustard/curry taste. Seems to help with pain. People I know, it turns out, are already taking the stuff. Same proud, confident, happy reaction to my using it as Jerry's. And it's all over the internet. It's fun being on this sort of team for a change. Devotees of the magic spice are a bit like those of the holy herb — a cozy klatch of believers with a strong "us vs. them" perception of the world. Fairly logical, not too rigorous scientifically, very empathetic. Does turmeric really work though? Or am I just resonating with Jerry? With a lot more respect for the question, and turmeric takers, I will let you know when I figure it out.

Other benefits of curcumin (I know this is overkill but Curcumin has the potential be an amazing health agent.

Alzheimer's disease
In laboratory studies, curcumin inhibits amyloid formation. Amyloids are insoluble fibrous protein aggregates that clump in the brain cells of Alzheimer's patients. Whether curcumin supplements help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's disease or help improve this condition is not known at this time.

Curcumin structure-function, bioavailability, and efficacy in models of neuroinflammation and Alzheimer's disease.
J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2008 Jule. Begum AN, Jones MR, Lim GP, Morihara T, Kim P, Heath DD, Rock CL, Pruitt MA, Yang F, Hudspeth B, Hu S, Faull KF, Teter B, Cole GM, Frautschy SA. Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
We examined the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, or anti-amyloidogenic effects of dietary curcumin and tetrahydrocurcumin, either administered chronically to aged  mice or acutely to lipopolysaccharide-injected wild-type mice. Despite dramatically higher drug plasma levels after tetrahydrocurcumin compared with curcumin gavage, resulting brain levels of parent compounds were similar. Only curcumin was effective in reducing amyloid plaque burden, insoluble beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta), and carbonyls. Because of its favorable safety profile and the involvement of misfolded proteins, oxidative damage, and inflammation in multiple chronic degenerative diseases, these data relating curcumin dosing to the blood and tissue levels required for efficacy should help translation efforts from multiple successful preclinical models.

Curcumin and colon polyposis
Combination treatment with curcumin and quercetin of adenomas in familial adenomatous polyposis.
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2006 August. Cruz-Correa M, Shoskes DA, Sanchez P, Zhao R, Hylind LM, Wexner SD, Giardiello FM. Department of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Weston, Florida, USA.
Familialadenomatous polyposis is an autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by the development of hundreds of colorectal adenomas and eventual colorectal cancer. Regression of adenomas in this syndrome occurs with the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, but these compounds can have considerable side effects. We evaluated the efficacy of the combination of diet-derived nonprescription supplements curcumin and quercetin to regress adenomas. Five familialadenomatous polyposis patients with prior colectomy (4 with retained rectum and 1 with an ileal anal pouch) received curcumin 480 mg and quercetin 20 mg orally 3 times a day. All 5 patients had a decreased polyp number and size from baseline after a mean of 6 months of treatment with curcumin and quercetin.

Cancer
Curcumin has the capacity of interact with multiple molecular targets affecting the many processes in cancer formation. Curcumin, in mice, interferes with the spread of breast cancer tumor cells to the lungs. Curcumin administration suppressed two proteins that tumor cells use to keep themselves immortal. Studies evaluating the role of curcumin and cancer continue to advance at a fast rate.

Leukemia
Turmeric and green tea: a recipe for the treatment of B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Clin Cancer Res. 2009 Feb 15; Angelo LS, Kurzrock R. Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Clinical Trials Program), Division of Cancer Medicine, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Two naturally occurring compounds, curcumin, the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, and the green tea extract epigallocatechin-3-gallate, have marked effects on the apoptotic machinery in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. These results provide a preclinical foundation for future clinical use of these compounds in this disease.

Melanoma influence
Curcumin, found in the spice turmeric, interferes with the growth of melanoma cells. Tests in laboratory dishes show that curcumin made melanoma skin cancer cells more likely to self-destruct in a process known as apoptosis.

Curcumin side effects, toxicity, danger, safety
No apparent curcumin side effects have been reported in the medical literature thus far. Increased body temperature on high doses may be a possible curcumin side effect on high doses. A study performed at the University of Michigan showed no curcumin toxicity at doses up to 6 grams.
   Dose escalation of a curcuminoid formulation. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2006 Mar 17;6:10. Lao CD, Ruffin MT 4th, et al. University of Michigan, 2150 CCGC, Ann Arbor, MI.

Curcumin Turmeric Research studies
Curcumin therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: a pilot study.
Dig Dis Sci. 2005 Nov;50(11):2191-3. Holt PR, Katz S, Kirshoff R.
St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University and Strang Cancer Center Research Laboratory, New York, New York.
Curcumin, a natural compound used as a food additive, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in cell culture and animal studies. A pure curcumin preparation was administered in an open label study to five patients with ulcerative proctitis and five with Crohn's disease. All proctitis patients improved, with reductions in concomitant medications in four, and four of five Crohn's disease patients had lowered CDAI ( crohn's disease activity index ) scores and sedimentation rates. This encouraging pilot study suggests the need for double-blind placebo-controlled follow-up studies.

Turmeric, a yellow spice used widely in Indian cooking, stops the spread of cancer in mice. Curcumin, an active compound found in turmeric, helped stop the spread of breast cancer tumor cells to the lungs of mice. Tests have already started in people, too, said Bharat Aggarwal of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who led the study. Earlier research showed that curcumin, an antioxidant, can help prevent tumors from forming in the laboratory. For their study, Aggarwal and colleagues injected mice with human breast cancer cells -- a batch of cells grown from a patient whose cancer had spread to the lungs. The resulting tumors were allowed to grow, and then surgically removed, to simulate a mastectomy, Aggarwal said. Then the mice either got no additional treatment; curcumin alone; the cancer drug paclitaxel, which is sold under the brand name Taxol; or curcumin plus Taxol. Half the mice in the curcumin -only group and 22 percent of those in the curcumin plus Taxol group had evidence of breast cancer that had spread to the lungs. But 75 percent of animals that got Taxol alone and 95 percent of those that got no treatment developed lung tumors. Earlier studies suggest that people who eat diets rich in turmeric have lower rates of breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. His team would like to try giving curcumin to women with a high risk of breast cancer -- such as those who have a mother or sister with the disease. No drug company is likely to develop a natural product that cannot be patented, he said. "There are no companies behind it so our only source of funding is either the National Institutes of Health or the Department of Defense," he said. This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Breast Cancer Research Program. Aggarwal's team is also testing curcumin against pancreatic cancer and multiple myeloma.

Curcumin -induced antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects in melanoma cells are associated with suppression of IkappaB kinase and nuclear factor kappaB activity and are independent of the B-Raf/mitogen-activated/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase pathway and the Akt pathway.
Cancer. 2005 Jul 11
Siwak DR, Shishodia S, Aggarwal BB, Kurzrock R. Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) plays a central role in cell survival and proliferation in human melanoma; therefore, the authors explored the possibility of exploiting NF-kappaB for melanoma treatment by using curcumin, an agent with known, potent, NF-kappaB-inhibitory activity and little toxicity in humans. Cucumin Cancer. Curcumin has potent antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects in melanoma cells.

Consumption of the putative chemopreventive agent curcumin by cancer patients: assessment of curcumin levels in the colorectum and their pharmacodynamic consequences.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Jan;14(1):120-5.
Curcumin, a constituent of the spice turmeric, has been shown to reduce the adenoma burden in rodent models of colorectal cancer. We tested the hypothesis that pharmacologically active levels of curcumin can be achieved in the colorectum of humans. Patients with colorectal cancer ingested curcumin capsules (3,600, 1,800, or 450 mg daily) for 7 days. Biopsy samples of normal and malignant colorectal tissue, respectively, were obtained at diagnosis and at 6 to 7 hours after the last dose of curcumin. Blood was taken 1 hour after the last dose of curcumin. Curcumin and its metabolites were detected and quantitated by high-performance liquid chromatography with detection by UV spectrophotometry or mass spectrometry. The concentrations of curcumin in normal and malignant colorectal tissue of patients receiving 3,600 mg of curcumin were 12 and 7 nmol/g, respectively. Curcumin sulfate and curcumin glucuronide were identified in the tissue of these patients. Trace levels of curcumin were found in the peripheral circulation. The results suggest that a daily dose of 3.6 g curcumin achieves pharmacologically efficacious levels in the colorectum with negligible distribution of curcumin outside the gut.

Curcumin inhibits formation of Abeta oligomers and fibrils and binds plaques and reduces amyloid in vivo.
J Biol Chem. 2004 Dec 7. Yang F, et al. University of California Los Angeles, North Hills, CA
Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves amyloid (Abeta) accumulation, oxidative damage and inflammation, and risk is reduced with increased antioxidant and anti-inflammatory consumption. The phenolic yellow curry pigment curcumin has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and can suppress oxidative damage, inflammation, cognitive deficits, and amyloid accumulation. Since the molecular structure of curcumin suggested potential Ass-binding, we investigated whether its efficacy in AD models could be explained by effects on Ass aggregation. Under aggregating conditions in vitro, curcumin inhibited aggregation as well as disaggregated fibrillar Ass40, indicating favorable stoichiometry for inhibition. Curcumin was a better Abeta40 aggregation inhibitor than ibuprofen and naproxen, and prevented Abeta42 oligomer formation and toxicity. Under electron microscopy, curcumin decreased dose-dependently Ass fibril formation. Curcumin's effects did not depend on Abeta sequence but on fibril-related conformation. AD and Tg2576 mice brain sections incubated with curcumin revealed preferential labeling of amyloid plaques. In vivo studies showed that curcumin injected peripherally into aged Tg mice, crossed the blood brain barrier and bound plaques. When fed to aged Tg2576 mice with advanced amyloid accumulation, curcumin labeled plaques and reduced amyloid levels and plaque burden. Hence, curcumin directly binds small ss-amyloid species to block aggregation and fibril formation in vitro and in vivo. These data suggest that low dose curcumin effectively disaggregates Ass as well as prevents fibril and oligomer formation, supporting the rationale for curcumin use in clinical trials preventing or treating AD.

Phase I clinical trial of oral curcumin: biomarkers of systemic activity and compliance.
Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Oct 15;10(20):6847-54.
Curcumin, a polyphenolic antioxidant derived from a dietary spice, exhibits anticancer activity in rodents and in humans. Its efficacy appears to be related to induction of glutathione S-transferase enzymes, inhibition of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production, or suppression of oxidative DNA adduct (M(1)G) formation. We designed a dose-escalation study to explore the pharmacology of curcumin in humans. Fifteen patients with advanced colorectal cancer refractory to standard chemotherapies consumed capsules compatible with curcumin doses between 0.45 and 3.6 g daily for up to 4 months. Levels of curcumin and its metabolites in plasma, urine, and feces were analyzed. Three biomarkers of the potential activity of curcumin were translated from preclinical models and measured in patient blood leukocytes: glutathione S-transferase activity, levels of M(1)G, and PGE(2) production induced ex vivo. Dose-limiting toxicity was not observed. Curcumin and its glucuronide and sulfate metabolites were detected in plasma in the 10 nmol/L range and in urine. A daily dose of 3.6 g curcumin engendered 62% and 57% decreases in inducible PGE(2) production in blood samples taken 1 hour after dose on days 1 and 29, respectively, of treatment compared with levels observed immediately predose. A daily oral dose of 3.6 g of curcumin is advocated for Phase II evaluation in the prevention or treatment of cancers outside the gastrointestinal tract. Levels of curcumin and its metabolites in the urine can be used to assess general compliance.

Phytoestrogens in common herbs regulate prostate cancer cell growth in vitro.
Nutr Cancer. 2004;49(2):200-8. Shenouda NS, Zhou C
Missouri University Center for Phytonutrient and Phytochemical Studies, University of Missouri, Columbia
Prostate cancer is an important public health problem in the United States. Seven phytoestrogens found in common herbal products were screened for estrogen receptor binding and growth inhibition of androgen-insensitive (PC-3) and androgen-sensitive (LNCaP) human prostate tumor cells. In a competitive 3H-estradiol ligand binding assay using mouse uterine cytosol, 2.5 M quercetin, baicalein, genistein, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and curcumin displaced > 85% of estradiol binding, whereas apigenin and resveratrol displaced > 40%. From growth inhibition studies in LNCaP cells, apigenin and curcumin were the most potent inhibitors of cell growth, and EGCG and baicalein were the least potent. In PC-3 cells, curcumin was the most potent inhibitor of cell growth, and EGCG was the least potent. In both cell lines, significant arrest of the cell cycle in S phase was induced by resveratrol and EGCG and in G2M phase by quercetin, baicalein, apigenin, genistein, and curcumin. Induction of apoptosis was induced by all of the 7 compounds in the 2 cell lines. Androgen responsiveness of the cell lines did not correlate with cellular response to the phytoestrogens. In conclusion, these 7 phytoestrogens, through different mechanisms, are effective inhibitors of prostate tumor cell growth.

Turmeric, a spice used extensively in Asia as a key ingredient of curry, may be protecting children against leukemia. Curcumin inhibits the multiplication of leukemia cells in laboratory studies and seems to protect against damage caused by cigarette smoke and eating certain processed foods.

Curcumin modulates free radical quenching in myocardial ischaemia in rats.
Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2004 Oct;36(10):1977-90.
This study was designed to investigate the protective effect of curcumin against isoprenaline induced myocardial ischaemia in rat myocardium. The effect of single oral dose of curcumin,, administered 30min before and/or after the onset of ischaemia, was investigated by assessing oxidative stress related biochemical parameters in rat myocardium. Curcumin pre and post-treatment (PPT) was shown to decrease the levels of xanthine oxidase, superoxide anion, lipid peroxides and myeloperoxidase while the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase activities were significantly increased after curcumin PPT. Histopathological and transmission electron microscopical studies also confirmed the severe myocardial damage occurring as a consequence of isoprenaline induced ischaemia and they also showed the significant improvement effected by curcumin. These findings provided evidence that curcumin was found to protect rat myocardium against ischaemic insult and the protective effect could be attributed to its antioxidant properties as well as its inhibitory effects on xanthine dehydrogenase/xanthine oxidase conversion and resultant superoxide anion production.

Inhibition of colonic aberrant crypt foci by curcumin in rats is affected by age.
Nutr Cancer. 2004;48(1):37-43.
Curcumin has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and chemopreventive activities. To determine whether aging affects the inhibition of colon carcinogenesis by curcumin, young (6 wk), mature (12 mo), and old (22 mo) F344 male rats were fed either 0.6% curcumin or a control diet. Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were induced with two weekly s.c. injections of azoxymethane. After an additional 3 mo on the diets, the number, multiplicity, and distribution of ACF were evaluated. Addition of curcumin to the diet reduced the number of ACF by 49% in young rats and by 55% in old rats. However, interestingly, no reduction of ACF was found in mature rats fed curcumin. Inhibition of large ACF was also affected by age, with the greatest reduction of large ACF occurring in old rats. However, animal age did not significantly alter the effect of dietary curcumin on reduction of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expression in the liver or reduction of serum total cholesterol levels. These results indicate that age may play a significant role in the efficacy of chemoprevention of colon cancer by curcumin.

Curcumin has potent anti-amyloidogenic effects for Alzheimer's beta-amyloid fibrils in vitro.
Ono K.  J Neurosci Res. 2004 Mar 15;75(6):742-50.
Inhibition of the accumulation of amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) and the formation of beta-amyloid fibrils (fAbeta) from Abeta, as well as the destabilization of preformed fAbeta in the central nervous system, would be attractive therapeutic targets for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).  Although the mechanism by which Curcumin and RA inhibit fAbeta formation from Abeta and destabilize preformed fAbeta in vitro remains unclear, they could be a key molecule for the development of therapeutics for AD.

Antimutagenic potential of curcumin on chromosomal aberrations in Wistar rats.
Shukla Y. Industrial Toxicology research Centre, P.O. Box 80, M.G. Marg, UP 226001, Lucknow, India
Curcumin, a yellow pigment commonly used as a spice and food coloring agent is obtained from rhizomes of Curcuma longa and is a major chemopreventive component of turmeric. In the present set of investigations the antimutagenic potential of curcumin has been evaluated using in vivo chromosomal aberration assay in Wistar rats. Cyclophosphamide (CP), a well-known mutagen was given. Curcumin was given through gastric intubation for seven consecutive days prior to CP treatment. The incidence of aberrant cells was found to be reduced by both the doses of curcumin when compared to CP treated group. The anticytotoxic potential of curcumin towards CP was also evident as the status of mitotic index was found to show increment. The study revealed the antigenotoxic potential of curcumin against CP induced chromosomal mutations.

Curcumin and resveratrol induce apoptosis and nuclear translocation and activation of p53 in human neuroblastoma.
Anticancer Res. 2004 Mar-Apr;24(2B):987-98.
Neuroblastoma (NB) is an aggressive childhood cancer of the peripheral nervous system arising from neural crest sympathoadrenal progenitor cells. Despite current rigorous treatment protocols, prognosis for high stage NB patients is poor and so there remains a need for more effective, less cytotoxic treatments. Curcumin and resveratrol possess anti-tumor properties in adult cancer models and negligible toxicity in normal cells, but little is known about the effect of these agents on pediatric cancers. Stage 4 MYCN-amplified NB cell lines, with wild-type or mutant p53, were treated with curcumin and resveratrol and analyzed for effects on proliferation, cell cycle, induction of apoptosis and p53 function. Treatment with resveratrol and curcumin induced a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cell viability, cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. Observations suggest that the cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induced by curcumin and resveratrol in NB cells may be mediated via functionally activated p53 and merit further study.

Antioxidant effect of curcumin in selenium induced cataract of Wistar rats.
Indian J Exp Biol. 2004 Jun;42(6):601-3.
Wistar rat pups treated with curcumin, a natural constituent of Curcuma longa before being administered with selenium showed no opacities in the lens. The lipid peroxidation, xanthine oxidase enzyme levels in the lenses of curcumin and selenium co-treated animals were significantly less when compared to selenium treated animals. The superoxidase dismutase and catalase enzyme activities of curcumin and selenium co-treated animal lenses showed an enhancement. Curcumin co-treatment seems to prevent oxidative damage and found to delay the development of cataract.

Curcumin inhibits experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by blocking IL-12 signaling through Janus kinase-STAT pathway in T lymphocytes.
J Immunol. 2002 Jun 15;168(12):6506-13.
Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a CD4(+) Th1 cell-mediated inflammatory demyelinating autoimmune disease of the CNS that serves as an animal model for multiple sclerosis. IL-12 is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays a crucial role in the induction of neural Ag-specific Th1 differentiation and pathogenesis of CNS demyelination in EAE and multiple sclerosis. Curcumin is a naturally occurring polyphenolic phytochemical isolated from the rhizome of the medicinal plant Curcuma longa. Curcumin has profound anti-inflammatory activity and been traditionally used to treat inflammatory disorders. In this study we have examined the effect and mechanism of action of curcumin on the pathogenesis of CNS demyelination in EAE. In vivo treatment of SJL/J mice with curcumin significantly reduced the duration and clinical severity of active immunization and adoptive transfer EAE. Curcumin inhibited EAE in association with a decrease in IL-12 production from macrophage/microglial cells and differentiation of neural Ag-specific Th1 cells. We believe curcumin inhibits EAE by blocking IL-12 signaling in T cells and suggest its use in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other Th1 cell-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Curcumin -- Efficacy of turmeric on blood sugar and polyol pathway in diabetic albino rats.
In the traditional system of medicine, Ayurveda, several spices and herbs are thought to possess medicinal properties. Among the spices, turmeric rhizomes are used as flavoring and coloring agents in the Indian diet everyday. We studied the effect of turmeric and its active principle, curcumin, on diabetes mellitus in a rat model. Alloxan was used to induce diabetes. Administration of turmeric or curcumin to diabetic rats reduced the blood sugar, Hb and glycosylated hemoglobin levels significantly. Turmeric and curcumin supplementation also reduced the oxidative stress encountered by the diabetic rats. Our results reveal that curcumin was more effective in attenuating diabetes mellitus related changes than turmeric.

IN SUMMARY!

Curcumin has demonstrated healing benefits for most if not all chronic diseases afflicting mankind. It is an antioxidant many times more potent than vitamins E and C. It is a complete anti-inflammatory equivalent to cortisone and other pain relieving drugs without the major side effects. It Is a modulating agent involved in the complex process of inflammation at all levels. In heart disease, curcumin can affect all the steps believed to be involved in the pathologic process of atherosclerosis.