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A natural compound found in the culinary spice turmeric may be as effective as omeprazole—a drug used to curb excess stomach acid—for treating indigestion symptoms, suggests the first study of its kind. The researchers randomly assigned 206 patients aged 18–70 with recurrent upset stomach (functional dyspepsia) of unknown cause to one of three treatment groups for a period of 28 days. These were: turmeric (two large 250 mg capsules of curcumin four times a day) and one small dummy capsule (69 patients); omeprazole (one small 20 mg capsule daily and two large dummy capsules four times a day (68 patients);...

Researchers found that drinking a 60ml turmeric drink twice a day allowed players to return to their pre-game fitness faster than those who did not. Playing soccer causes muscle damage in players and an inflammatory response—and their rapid recovery is crucial to optimizing their next performance and reducing injury risk. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin—known to have anti-inflammatory properties—and previous studies have found that curcumin supplementation can reduce soreness following muscle-damaging exercise. This process appears to be aided by a reduction in pro-inflammatory proteins in the blood, known as cytokines, which increase in response to a stress, such...

A recent study published in the journal Computers in Biology and Medicine demonstrated that the phytochemical curcumin is a potent therapeutic prospect against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant. The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused over 508 million SARS-CoV-2 cases and six million deaths to date globally. As of now, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant is the dominant strain worldwide. Omicron was designated a variant of concern (VOC) since it can evade vaccine- and infection-induced immunity due to several mutations in its spike (S) protein, including 15 amino acid substitutions across the receptor-binding...

Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has a wide range of pathophysiological effects. Curcumin, an active constituent of Curcuma longa (turmeric), has several properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-thrombotic, and anti-proliferative effects, which make it a promising candidate for the symptomatic treatment of COVID-19. Objective: We aimed to determine the effects of curcumin administered with piperine (to optimize absorption) on symptoms in patients with COVID-19 in a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial at a 30-bed dedicated COVID Health Center (DCHC) in Maharashtra, India. Methods: In addition to conventional COVID-19 treatment, patients in the control group received a dose of probiotics twice a day,...

There has been considerable interest in fisetin recently, especially for its potential as a senolytic, which clears away dysfunctional senescent cells that accumulate with aging. Researchers believe that fisetin may be useful in increasing the healthy period of life known as healthspan. What is Fisetin? Fisetin is a part of the flavonoid family of polyphenols. Fisetin acts as a pigment and influences the color of various fruits and vegetables. Senescent cells and senolytics As we grow older, we accumulate more and more damaged cells which cease dividing and enter a state known as senescence. Once they enter this state, they...

Many curries and stews around the world are made with turmeric, which gives them a yellowish hue and a peppery, ginger-like taste. Shutterstock Turmeric and the chemical compound derived from it, called curcumin, have some amazing health benefits. In addition to being an anti-inflammatory that helps boost circulation, turmeric may also be an anti-cancer, antioxidant therapy that can fight off brain plaques, possibly helping prevent diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and more. And unlike a lot of other vitamins and supplements, it's cheap. Doctors are increasingly embracing the idea that the food we eat may be as good as any disease-fighting,...

Science Finding Medical Promise In Kitchen Cabinets By BRIE ZELTNER   Spices lend food wonderful flavors and also impart health benefits. (Photo by Sean Simmers)     [Cleveland, OH] -- In 1993, an eager biochemist at the University of Texas struggled to put the brakes on a protein he had discovered a few years earlier, a protein that can trigger cancers and inflammatory diseases.Bharat Aggarwal knew that the protein, tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, could cause a whole cascade of inflammation in the human body — a very bad thing. He also knew that turmeric, the yellow curry spice, was...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Revered in India as "holy powder," the marigold-colored spice known as turmeric has been used for centuries to treat wounds, infections and other health problems. In recent years, research into the healing powers of turmeric's main ingredient, curcumin, has burgeoned, as its astonishing array of antioxidant, anti-cancer, antibiotic, antiviral and other properties has been revealed. Yet little has been known about exactly how curcumin works inside the body. Now, University of Michigan researchers led by Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy have discovered that curcumin acts as a disciplinarian, inserting itself into cell membranes and making them more orderly, a move that...

LA JOLLA, CA--A synthetic derivative of the curry spice turmeric, made by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, dramatically improves the behavioral and molecular deficits seen in animal models of ischemic stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Two new studies suggest that the novel compound may have clinical promise for these conditions, which currently lack good therapies. Ischemic stroke is the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death of older people in the United States, while TBI is the leading cause of death and disability in both civilians and military personnel under the age...

Worried about osteoporosis? Take turmeric! Indian spice improves bone density by up to 7%, study revealsTurmeric helps to build and repair bone mass in the elderly, a new study reveals. Taking a supplement of the popular Indian spice improves bone density by up to seven per cent over six months, researchers found. A compound in turmeric, known as curcumin, is thought to balance out cells that remove ageing parts of bone before it is replaced, according to previous findings. Almost three quarters of elderly people suffer declining bone density, which can cause osteoporosis and is responsible for around 65,000 potentially...

(NaturalNews) Nature is full of various herbs and spices that protect against disease and even treat and cure it. And according to Chris Kilham, an ethnobotanist and Fox News' "Medicine Hunter", turmeric root -- also known in its extract form as curcumin -- is one such powerful spice that appears to both prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease and even cure it. "People who develop Alzheimer's disease get a sticky plaque in the brain called amyloid beta," explained Kilham to Dr. Manny Alvarez in a recent Fox News interview. Such plaques either develop as a result of Alzheimer's, or they...

Yellow pigment in curry spice blocks, breaks up brain plaques in mice A dietary staple of India, where Alzheimer's disease rates are reportedly among the world's lowest, holds potential as a weapon in the fight against the disease. The new UCLA-Veterans Affairs study involving genetically altered mice suggests that curcumin, the yellow pigment in curry spice, inhibits the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and also breaks up existing plaques. Reporting in the Dec. 7, 2004, online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the research team also determined curcumin is more effective in inhibiting...

Curry 'may slow Alzheimer's' A spicy ingredient of many curries may be an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, say researchers. A team from the University of California at Los Angeles believes that turmeric may play a role in slowing down the progression of the neurodegenerative disease. The finding may help to explain why rates of Alzheimer's are much lower among the elderly in India than in their Western peers. Previous studies have found that Alzheimer's affects just 1% of people over the age of 65 living in some Indian villages. Vindaloos Turmeric is found in everything from mild Kormas to...

WASHINGTON : Too bad Ronald Reagan never developed a taste for curry. It might have saved him from Alzheimer's disease. As the former President's death focuses attention on the degenerative brain condition that devastates memory, recent studies have shown that diets rich in curcumin, a compound found in the common Indian curry spice turmeric ( haldi ) can help prevent Alzheimer's. In fact, American researchers reckon the high incidence of turmeric use is one reason why the disease is rare in India . Studies have noted that the elderly living in Indian villages appear to have the lowest incidence of...

  “Exactly how curcumin exerts its effects is not certain, but it may be due to its ability to reduce brain inflammation, which has been linked to both Alzheimer’s disease and major depression,” said Dr. Gary Small, director of geriatric psychiatry at UCLA’s Longevity Center and of the geriatric psychiatry division at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, and the study’s first author. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 40 adults between the ages of 50 and 90 years who had mild memory complaints. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or 90 milligrams of curcumin twice...

A team of researchers from Denmark and France has found that taking regular doses of the pain reliever ibuprofen over a long period of time can lead to a disorder in men called compensated hypogonadism. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study, which involved giving the drug to volunteers and monitoring their hormones and sperm production. To learn more about the possible impacts of the popular anti-inflammation drug Ibuprofen on male fertility when taken for long periods of time, the researchers asked 31 men between the ages of 18 and...

The experimental drug J147 is something of a modern elixir of life; it's been shown to treat Alzheimer's disease and reverse aging in mice and is almost ready for clinical trials in humans. Now, Salk scientists have solved the puzzle of what, exactly, J147 does. In a paper published January 7, 2018, in the journal Aging Cell, they report that the drug binds to a protein found in mitochondria, the energy-generating powerhouses of cells. In turn, they showed, it makes aging cells, mice and flies appear more youthful. "This really glues together everything we know about J147 in terms of...

A woman who battled blood cancer for years without success finally halted the disease with turmeric, it has been reported. Dieneke Ferguson is now leading a normal life after giving up on gruelling treatments that failed to stop it. Doctors say her case is the first recorded instance in which a patient has recovered by using the spice after stopping conventional medical treatments. With her myeloma spreading rapidly after three rounds of chemotherapy and four stem cell transplants, the 67-year-old began taking 8g of curcumin a day – one of the main compounds in turmeric. The cancer, which has an...

A diagnosis of AlzheimerÂ’s, sadly, has become almost like a rite of passage in so-called developed countries. AlzheimerÂ’s is considered the most common form of dementia, which is defined as a serious loss of cognitive function beyond what is expected from normal aging in previously unimpaired persons. A 2006 study estimated that 26 million people throughout the world suffer from this condition, and that by 2050, the prevalence will quadruple, by which time one in 85 people worldwide will be afflicted with the disease. Given the global extent of the problem, interest is growing in safe and effective preventive and...

One of the most promising new treatments for Alzheimer's disease may already be in your kitchen. Curcumin, a natural product found in the spice turmeric, has been used by many Asian cultures for centuries, and a new study indicates a close chemical analog of curcumin has properties that may make it useful as a treatment for the brain disease. "Curcumin has demonstrated ability to enter the brain, bind and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in Alzheimer's with reduced toxicity," said Wellington Pham, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt and senior author of the...