Curcumin
Curcumin is a phenolic compound found in the spice turmeric. Turmeric contains three substances called curcuminoids, and these are demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and curcumin. Luckily, the substance that affects us the most is the easiest one to pronounce, curcumin.
Curcumin is a water soluble, yellow-orange powder, which provides the vibrant color to the spice turmeric. It is essentially a pigment, like many phytonutrients, and because of this property turmeric is used as a dye and food coloring. Turmeric is a common ingredient in Indian cooking. It is also used as a cosmetic, added to creams and bath water, and believed to drive away bad luck or evil. It has been used as a medicine in Asia and Middle East for hundreds of years, for conditions such as liver ailments, upset stomach, diarrhea, diabetes, to slow lactation, applied externally to insect stings, chicken pox, to relieve itching, and even as a cure for hiccups.
Turmeric, and specifically curcumin, has the attention of Western scientists now and is the subject of many studies. One promising use of curcumin is for its anti-inflammatory properties. Unfortunately most of the experiments done in this area didn't use a control group, so even though they showed good results, they can't be seriously considered as evidence. Some diseases related to inflammation are rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and conditions of the eye.
Curcumin has shown strong anticancer properties in vitro, or basically in a test tube. It can induce apoptosis in cells, or give them the signal to self distruct if there is a mutation in the cell. It also inhibits the angiogenesis of tumours, which is the huge growth of new blood vessels that a tumour needs in order to grow. These results need to be shown in human studies, before curcumin can be put to practical use in fighting cancer.
A third property of curcumin which has been proven in vitro, but not in human studies, is as an antioxidant. Curcumin is broken down very quickly in the body so it doesn't reach concentrations in the blood and tissue nearly as high as the amounts used in test tube experiments. However researchers have found that if you give curcumin supplements for 7 days you can reach a high level in the gastrointestinal tract. This may be beneficial for fighting colon cancers.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is currently funding studies of curcumin. Read a fact sheet about these studies. Curcumin has been shown to control cystic fibrosis in mice, but so far they haven't seen the same results in humans. Read an abstract of this study. Another area of study is with Alzheimers patients. Curcumin has been shown to inhibit growth of the amyloid beta formations that are a symptom of Alzheimers Disease, but only in vitro. Animals were injected with curcumin and it was found to cross the blood brain barrier, and decrease the inflammation and damage of Alzheimers disease. In human studies the curcumin is being given orally, and they haven't found a level yet where it has an effect of Alzheimers symptoms. Studies of curcumin and Alzheimers have been published in The Chinese Medical Journal, The Journal of Neuroscience, The Journal of Biological Chemistry and Neurobiology of Aging.
Clearly this phytonutrient shows promise in treating many different illnesses. On the bright side, there don't seem to be any side effects from taking supplements of curcumin, or eating a lot of turmeric. The only caution is that it interacts with several medications, such as reserpine, indomethacin, warfarin or other blood thinners, and some chemotherapy drugs.
One brilliant use of turmeric is as a food coloring. It can be found in many foods such as margarine, processed cheese, baked goods, mustards and curries. This is a much healthier alternative than the synthetic dyes the US government allows manufacturers to use.
The information on this page is not meant to be used in treatment of medical conditions. Please seek the advice of a physician about any medical condition or symptom. Those with medical conditions should consult a medical professional about the appropriateness of taking dietary supplements or diet therapy, and how these methods will interact with their medications.
Phytochemical Society of North America
Phytochemical Society of Europe
For detailed information about the chemical structure, formula, and molecular weight of various phytonutrients, visit
The US Dept of Agriculture.
Phytochemicals also gives detailed information on specific phytochemicals.
Search for herbs at the Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center website.