Scientists have found curcumin, the active ingredient in the
traditional herbal remedy and dietary spice turmeric, possesses a wide range of
therapeutic properties against many serious diseases including cancer.
Hatcher H at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in
Winston-Salem,
NC
and colleagues published an article titled Curcumin: From ancient medicine to
current clinical trials in the March 7, 2008 issue of Cellular and Molecular
Life Sciences giving a snapshot of what this wonder herbal ingredient can do
for humans.
According to the authors, curcumin has many therapeutic
properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic
activity. The compound can scavenge free radicals and acts as hydrogen donor,
bind metals such as iron and copper, and function as an iron chelator.
Currently, the authors said this compound is being tested in
human clinical trials for a variety of conditions including multiple myeloma,
pancreatic cancer, myelodysplastic syndromes, colon cancer, psoriasis and
Alzheimer's disease.
