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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Asian Spice Turmeric May Prevent Rheumatoid
Arthritis and Osteoporosis
U. of Arizona researchers say it may fight
other inflammatory disorders
October 30, 2006 - An ancient spice, long used in
traditional Asian medicine, may hold promise for the prevention of both
rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, according to a recently completed
study at The University of Arizona College of Medicine. It is
encouraging news for millions of senior citizens concerned about both
conditions. Turmeric, the spice that flavors and gives its yellow color
to many curries and other foods, has been used for centuries by
practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine to treat inflammatory disorders.
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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements |
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Turmeric extract containing the ingredient curcumin
is marketed widely in the Western world as a dietary supplement for the
treatment and prevention of a variety of disorders, including arthritis.
At the UA College of Medicine, Janet L. Funk, MD,
working with Barbara N. Timmermann, PhD, then-director of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Arizona Center for Phytomedicine
Research at the UA, set out to determine whether (and how) turmeric
works as an anti-arthritic.
They began by preparing their own extracts from the
rhizome, or root, of the plant, providing themselves with
well-characterized materials to test and to compare with commercially
available products. (Dr. Timmermann since has joined the faculty of the
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.)
Dr. Funk and her colleagues then tested in animal
models a whole extract of turmeric root, only the essential oils, and an
oil-depleted extract containing the three major curcuminoids found in
the rhizome. Of the three extracts, the one containing the major
curcuminoids was most similar in chemical composition to commercially
available turmeric dietary supplements. It also was the most effective,
completely inhibiting the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.
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Turmeric a Hot Research Topic |
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The medicinal properties of the turmeric have for
millennia been known to the ancient Indians and have been expounded in
the Ayurvedic texts. It is only in recent years that Western scientists
have increasingly recognized the medicinal properties of turmeric.
According to a 2005 article in the Wall Street Journal titled, "Common
Indian Spice Stirs Hope," research activity into curcumin, the active
ingredient in turmeric, is exploding.
Two hundred and fifty-six curcumin
papers were published in the past year according to a search of the U.S.
National Library of Medicine.
Supplement sales have increased 35% from
2004, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health has four clinical
trials underway to study curcumin treatment for pancreatic cancer,
multiple myeloma, Alzheimer's, and colorectal cancer.
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Read more at Wikipedia
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Dr. Funk, an endocrinologist in the UA Department
of Medicine, says this study provides several noteworthy "firsts."
● Completed with the researchers' own prepared,
well-defined extracts, the study represents the first documentation of
the chemical composition of a curcumin-containing extract tested in a
living organism, in vivo, for anti-arthritic efficacy.
● It also provides the first evidence of
anti-arthritic efficacy of a complex turmeric extract that is analogous
in composition to turmeric dietary supplements.
The significance, she explains, is that translating
the results of trials such as these to clinical use depends on accurate
information about the chemical content and biological activity of the
botanical supplements available for use.
This work paves the way for the preclinical and
clinical trials needed before turmeric supplements can be recommended
for medicinal use in preventing or suppressing rheumatoid arthritis.
● This study also provides the first in vivo
documentation of a mechanism of action – how curcumin-containing
extracts protect against arthritis.
The researchers found that the curcuminoid extract
inhibits a transcription factor called NF-KB from being activated in the
joint. A transcription factor is a protein that controls when genes are
switched on or off. Once the transcription factor NF-KB is activated, or
turned on, it binds to genes and enhances production of inflammatory
proteins, destructive to the joint. The finding that curcuminoid extract
inhibits activation of NF-KB suggests that turmeric dietary supplements
share the same mechanism of action as anti-arthritic pharmaceuticals
under development that target NF-KB.
It also suggests that turmeric may have a use in
other inflammatory disorders, such as asthma, multiple sclerosis and
inflammatory bowel disease.
In addition to preventing joint inflammation, Dr.
Funk's study shows that the curcuminoid extract blocked the pathway that
affects bone resorption. Noting that bone loss associated with
osteoporosis in women typically begins before the onset of menopause,
she has begun work on another NIH-funded study to determine whether
turmeric taken as a dietary supplement during perimenopause can prevent
bone loss and osteoporosis.
Both of the studies are supported by the National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the Office
of Dietary Supplements (ODS), both of the NIH.
An initial publication of the rheumatoid arthritis
study results in the Journal of Natural Products, which was among the
most-accessed articles from April-June 2006 in this prestigious American
Chemical Society journal, is being followed by more detailed study
results, which will appear in the November 2006 issue of the American
College of Rheumatology flagship journal, Arthritis and Rheumatism.
The article, "Efficacy and Mechanism of Action of
Turmeric Supplements in the Treatment of Experimental Arthritis," is
scheduled to appear in the online issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism
Monday, Oct. 30, 2006.
Editor's Notes:
Contributors to the study include Janet L. Funk,
MD; Jennifer B. Frye; Janice N. Oyarzo, MS; Nesrin Kuscuoglu, PhD;
Jonathan Wilson; Gwen McCaffrey, PhD; Gregory Stafford; Guanjie Chen,
MD; R. Clark Lantz, PhD; Shivanand D. Jolad, PhD; Aniko M. Soìlyom, PhD;
Pawel R. Kiela, DVM, PhD; and Barbara N. Timmermann, PhD.
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