Did You know that Curcumin can Help Combat Systemic Inflammation?

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by: Martino
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Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 Time: 12:18 AM
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Curcumin is a compound found in turmeric, the primary ingredient of most curry powders in the market nowadays. In the food industry, it is known for its characteristic color that ranges from yellow to bright orange, earning it an approved food additive status labeled E100 within the European Union. However, its use goes beyond just adding color and flavor to food. In the East, most notably in India and neighboring countries, it has been a ubiquitous healing agent spanning over three millennia.

Like many researches nowadays, the recent surge in interest in curcumin was prompted by its age-old use in healing practices associated with alternative medicine, Ayurvedic medicine to be more specific. Turmeric, the perennial plant this compound is extracted form, has been used widely in the East in a variety of medicinal preparations, originating from India and going as far as Okinawa, Japan. It is highly regarded for its Ayurvedic properties with an emphasis on its effects to ward off unwanted inflammation and gastric illnesses. It was in the early 1990's that the West has patented the use of turmeric as a medication, and this action was immediately contested by Indian Ayurvedic community.

The herb turmeric grows in the tropics, South Asia in particular. It is the most commonly known plant of the ginger family and is primarily cultivated for its rhizomes. Owing to its antibacterial bacterial properties, it is used to heal cuts, open wounds, burn-related skin problems, and even bruises. To back up the long tradition of its use in local ceremonies believed to bring about healthy younger-looking skin, recent studies have noted that it may contain antioxidants responsible for its anti-inflammatory effects when applied to skin. The government of Thailand is funding a research underway to isolate the compound tetrahydrocurcuminoids in the hope of relieving skin inflammation as well as adding it to cosmetic products.

A group of molecules called eicosanoids are specialized for the defensive processes immunity and inflammation in the human body. Produced from twenty-carbon essential fatty acids, they are released to control a network of systems and consequently facilitate both immunity and inflammation processes effectively. There are two groups of eicosanoids that curcumin is believed to have an effect on: (1) prostaglandins and (2) leukotrienes. These two are groups of lipid compounds that are produced in many places through the body to mediate systematic inflammation. Prostaglandins signal the start of inflammation and supervise the process by continually inviting other compounds to the area of inflammation. Leukotrienes work on the same principle but are tied to asthmatic and allergic reactions.
Curcumin and its derivatives curcuminoids contain a functional group of compounds involved in the chemical reaction against the synthesis of prostaglandins and leukotrienes. In other words, they stop uncontrolled productions of these inflammatory compounds. Although further studies are needed to understand how curcumin exactly works, this is the premise behind its anti-inflammatory wonders.

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