BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY

The turmeric plant, from which Curcumin is extracted, is a large-leaved herb, closely related to ginger. It is cultivated in tropical countries for the thick, rounded, underground stems or rhizomes, which constitute the spice, turmeric. Turmeric contains an oil, which consists in part of curcumin, which on oxidation is changed into vanillin, the active principle in vanilla. Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-hepatotoxic(good for the liver) herb. It contains a mixture of powerful antioxidant phytonutrients known as curcuminoids. Tumeric is a mild aromatic stimulant seldom used in medicine except as a coloring. It was once a cure for jaundice. Its chief use is in the manufacture of curry powders.
Curcumin May Prevent Kidney Disease, Report Shows.

Full source: BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, 2000, Vol 129, Iss 2, pp 231-234
A study investigated the effect of curcumin on artificially induced kidney disease in rats. Results indicated that treatment with curcumin prevented the kidney injury and restored kidney function. Treatment with curcumin significantly protected against proteinuria, albuminuria, hypoalbuminaemia and hyperlipidaemia. Curcumin inhibited the increase in urinary excretion of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (a marker of kidney tubular injury), fibronectin and glycosaminoglycan and blood cholesterol. The data also demonstrated that curcumin protected against kidney injury by suppressing free radicals and increasing kidney glutathione content and glutathione peroxidase activity (endogenous antioxidants). Curcumin also eliminated kidney microsomal and mitochondrial lipid peroxidation. The data suggest that administration of curcumin is a promising approach in the treatment of kidney disease.
Curry Spice Could Slow Alzheimer's, Study Shows

By E. J. Mundell NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
Diets rich in curcumin--a compound found in the curry spice turmeric--may help explain why rates of Alzheimer's disease are much lower among the elderly in India compared with their Western peers. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the buildup of amyloid protein ``plaques'' within the brain. In studies in rats, curcumin ``not only reduces the amyloid, but also reduces the (brain's) response to the amyloid,'' according to researcher Dr. Sally Frautschy of the University of California, Los Angeles. She presented her findings Thursday at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, California. Previous studies have noted that elderly individuals living in Indian villages appear to have the lowest incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the world, with just 1% of those aged 65 and older contracting the degenerative brain condition. The reasons for this low incidence remain unclear, however. Frautschy speculated that curcumin found in curry could provide a clue to this puzzle since the compound has ``a long history of dietary and herbal medicinal use'' and is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. In her study, Frautschy fed middle-aged (9 months old) and aged (22 months old) rats diets rich in curcumin. All of the rats had received brain injections of amyloid to mimic progressive Alzheimer's disease. ``Curcumin reduced the accumulation of beta-amyloid and the associated loss of proteins'' in the synapses, or gaps, between individual brain cells, Frautschy reported. ``Synapses connect nerve cells and are crucial for memory,'' the California researcher explained. Keeping synapses free of plaque is important because ``their loss correlates well with memory decline in Alzheimer's.'' This type of memory preservation may have been reflected in the fact that rats fed curcumin also performed much better in memory-dependent maze tests compared with rats on normal diets, according to Frautschy. Curcumin also appeared to reduce Alzheimer's-related inflammation in neurologic tissue. Because ``a combined anti-inflammatory and antioxidant approach will be useful for Alzheimer's prevention or treatment,'' Frautschy speculates that curcumin could be especially valuable in the fight against the disease, especially in combination with anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. Her team is hopeful they will soon receive funding for clinical trials to investigate curcumin-ibuprofen combination therapy. Curcumin may not be the only compound in the kitchen spice rack able to ward off Alzheimer's. In an interview with Reuters Health, Frautschy said that ``chemicals from rosemary (rosmarinic acid) and ginger (vanillin and zingerone, also high in Indian diets) have similar structure and should be tested.''
Curcumin prevents radiation damage. -Science Daily, 10/8/02

On October 15, 2002, a similar report was released by Oxford University in the UK. In other news, Dr. Hideki Hidaka from Kumamoto University in Japan reported the discovery of a compound in curcumin that may suppress production of a protein(interleukin-8) that spurs tumor growth in the body. This protein attracts white blood cells to a particular site, leading to inflammation. Additional research will be needed to determine what role this protein and similar ones play in promoting tumor growth and suppressing the immune system.