Science
Confirms That One Plant is as Effective as 14 Drugs
Given
the sheer density of research performed on this remarkable spice, it is no
wonder that a growing number of studies have concluded that it compares
favorably to a variety of conventional medications, including Lipitor,
Corticosteroids, Prozac, Aspirin, Anti-inflammatory Drugs, Oxaliplatin
(chemotherapy drug), Metformin (diabetes drug)
bySayer Ji
Green Med Info
May 15, 2013
Green Med Info
May 15, 2013
Turmeric
is one the most thoroughly researched plants in existence today. Its
medicinal properties and components (primarily curcumin)
have been the subject of over 5600 peer-reviewed and published biomedical studies.
In fact, our five-year long research project on this sacred
plant has revealed over 600 potential preventive and
therapeutic applications, as well as 175 distinct beneficial physiological
effects. This entire database of 1,585 ncbi-hyperlinked turmeric abstracts can
be downloaded as a PDF at our Downloadable
Turmeric Document page, and acquired either as a retail
item or with 200 GMI-tokens, for those of you who are already are members and receive
them automatically each month.
Given
the sheer density of research performed on this remarkable spice, it is no
wonder that a growing number of studies have concluded that it compares
favorably to a variety of conventional medications, including:
- Lipitor/Atorvastatin(cholesterol
medication): A 2008 study published in the
journal Drugs in R & D found
that a standardized preparation of curcuminoids from Turmeric compared
favorably to the drug atorvastatin (trade name Lipitor) on endothelial
dysfunction, the underlying pathology of the blood vessels that drives
atherosclerosis, in association with reductions in inflammation and
oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic patients. [i]
[For addition curcumin
and 'high cholesterol' research – 8 abstracts]
- Corticosteroids
(steroid medications): A 1999
study published in the journal
Phytotherapy Research found that the primary polyphenol in
turmeric, the saffron colored pigment known as curcumin, compared
favorably to steroids in the management of chronic anterior uveitis, an
inflammatory eye disease.[ii]
A 2008 study published in Critical
Care Medicine found that curcumin compared favorably to the
corticosteroid drug dexamethasone in the animal model as an alternative
therapy for protecting lung transplantation-associated injury by
down-regulating inflammatory genes.[iii]
An earlier 2003 study published in Cancer
Letters found the same drug also compared favorably to
dexamethasone in a lung ischaemia-repurfusion injury model.[iv] [for additional curcumin
and inflammation research – 52 abstracts]
- Prozac/Fluoxetine
& Imipramine (antidepressants):
A 2011 study published in the journal Acta
Poloniae Pharmaceutica found that curcumin compared favorably
to both drugs in reducing depressive behavior in an animal model.[v]
[for additional curcumin and depression research – 5
abstracts]
- Aspirin
(blood thinner): A 1986 in vitro and ex
vivo study published in the journal Arzneimittelforschung
found that curcumin has anti-platelet and prostacyclin modulating effects
compared to aspirin, indicating it may have value in patients prone to
vascular thrombosis and requiring anti-arthritis therapy.[vi] [for additional curcumin and anti-platelet research]
- Anti-inflammatory
Drugs: A 2004 study published in the
journal Oncogene found
that curcumin (as well as resveratrol) were effective alternatives to the
drugs aspirin, ibuprofen,
sulindac, phenylbutazone, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac,
dexamethasone, celecoxib, and tamoxifen in exerting
anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity against tumor cells.[vii]
[for additional curcumin
and anti-proliferative research – 15 abstracts]
- Oxaliplatin
(chemotherapy drug): A 2007
study published in the International
Journal of Cancer found that curcumin compares favorably with
oxaliplatin as an antiproliferative agenet in colorectal cell lines.[viii]
[for additional curcumin and colorectal cancer research –
52 abstracts]
- Metformin
(diabetes drug): A 2009 study
published in the journal Biochemitry
and Biophysical Research Community explored how curcumin might
be valuable in treating diabetes, finding that it activates AMPK (which
increases glucose uptake) and suppresses gluconeogenic gene
expression (which suppresses glucose production in the liver) in
hepatoma cells. Interestingly, they found curcumin to be 500 times to
100,000 times (in the form known as tetrahydrocurcuminoids(THC)) more
potent than metformin in activating AMPK and its downstream target
acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). [ix]
We have found no less than 54 studies indicating that curcumin can induce cell death or sensitize drug-resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment.[x]
We have identified 27 studies on curcumin’s ability to either induce cell death or sensitize multi-drug resistant cancer cell lines to conventional treatment.[xi]
Considering how strong a track record turmeric (curcumin) has, having been used as both food and medicine in a wide range of cultures, for thousands of years, a strong argument can be made for using curcumin as a drug alternative or adjuvant in cancer treatment.
Or, better yet, use certified organic (non-irradiated) turmeric in lower culinary doses on a daily basis so that heroic doses won’t be necessary later in life after a serious disease sets in. Nourishing yourself, rather than self-medicating with ‘nutraceuticals,’ should be the goal of a healthy diet. [learn more at Sayer Ji's new collaborative project EATomology]
Resources
- [i]
P Usharani, A A Mateen, M U R Naidu, Y S N Raju, Naval Chandra. Effect of NCB-02, atorvastatin and placebo on endothelial
function, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in patients with type
2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled,
8-week study. Drugs R D. 2008;9(4):243-50. PMID: 18588355
- [ii]
B Lal, A K Kapoor, O P Asthana, P K Agrawal, R Prasad, P Kumar, R C
Srimal. Efficacy of curcumin in the management of chronic anterior
uveitis. Phytother Res. 1999 Jun;13(4):318-22. PMID: 10404539
- [iii]
Jiayuan Sun, Weigang Guo, Yong Ben, Jinjun Jiang, Changjun Tan, Zude Xu,
Xiangdong Wang, Chunxue Bai. Preventive effects of curcumin and dexamethasone on lung
transplantation-associated lung injury in rats. Crit
Care Med. 2008 Apr;36(4):1205-13. PMID: 18379247
- [iv]
J Sun, D Yang, S Li, Z Xu, X Wang, C Bai. Effects of curcumin or dexamethasone on lung
ischaemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Cancer Lett.
2003 Mar 31;192(2):145-9. PMID: 18799504
- [v]
Jayesh Sanmukhani, Ashish Anovadiya, Chandrabhanu B Tripathi. Evaluation of antidepressant like activity of curcumin and its
combination with fluoxetine and imipramine: an acute and chronic study.
Acta Pol Pharm. 2011 Sep-Oct;68(5):769-75. PMID: 21928724
- [vi]
R Srivastava, V Puri, R C Srimal, B N Dhawan. Effect of curcumin on platelet aggregation and vascular
prostacyclin synthesis. Arzneimittelforschung. 1986
Apr;36(4):715-7. PMID: 3521617
- [vii]
Yasunari Takada, Anjana Bhardwaj, Pravin Potdar, Bharat B Aggarwal. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents differ in their ability
to suppress NF-kappaB activation, inhibition of expression of
cyclooxygenase-2 and cyclin D1, and abrogation of tumor cell
proliferation. Oncogene. 2004 Dec 9;23(57):9247-58.
PMID: 15489888
- [viii]
Lynne M Howells, Anita Mitra, Margaret M Manson. Comparison of oxaliplatin- and curcumin-mediated antiproliferative
effects in colorectal cell lines. Int J Cancer. 2007
Jul 1;121(1):175-83. PMID: 17330230
- [ix]
Teayoun Kim, Jessica Davis, Albert J Zhang, Xiaoming He, Suresh T Mathews.
Curcumin activates AMPK and suppresses gluconeogenic gene
expression in hepatoma cells. Biochem Biophys Res
Commun. 2009 Oct 16;388(2):377-82. Epub 2009 Aug 8. PMID: 19665995
- [x]
GreenMedInfo.com, Curcumin Kills Drug Resistant Cancers, 54
Abstracts
- [xi]
GreenMedInfo.com, Curcumin Kills Multi-Drug Resistant Cancers:
27 Abstracts.
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