WASHINGTON: A drug based on curcumin, a compound found in the humble turmeric, may combat inflammation observed in many diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis, a new study suggests.
Anecdotal and scientific evidence suggests curcumin promotes health because it lowers inflammation, but it is not absorbed well by the body.
Most curcumin in food or supplements stays in the gastrointestinal tract, and any portion that’s absorbed is metabolized quickly.
Nicholas Young, a postdoctoral researcher in rheumatology and immunology at Ohio State and lead author of the study, set out to investigate whether enabling widespread availability of curcumin’s biological effects to the entire body could make it useful both therapeutically and as a daily supplement to combat disease.
In the study, curcumin powder was mixed with castor oil and polyethylene glycol in a process called nano-emulsion, creating fluid teeming with microvesicles that contain curcumin.
This process allows the compound to dissolve and be more easily absorbed by the gut to enter the bloodstream and tissues.
Feeding mice this curcumin-based drug shut down an acute inflammatory reaction by blocking activation of a key protein that triggers the immune response.
The researchers also found that curcumin stops recruitment of specific immune cells that, when overactive, are linked to such problems as heart disease and obesity.
Young and his colleagues now want to know if curcumin in this form can counter the chronic inflammation that is linked to sickness and age-related frailty.
They have started with animal studies testing nano-emulsified curcumin’s ability to prevent or control inflammation in a lupus model.
“We envision that this nutraceutical could be used one day both as a daily supplement to help prevent certain diseases and as a therapeutic drug to help combat the bad inflammation observed in many diseases,” Young said.
The study also found that nano-emulsified curcumin halted the recruitment of immune cells called macrophages that “eat” invading pathogens but also contribute to inflammation by secreting pro-inflammatory chemicals.
Researchers found that in cells isolated from human blood samples, macrophages were stopped in their tracks.
“This macrophage-specific effect of curcumin had not been described before. Because of that finding, we propose nano-emulsified curcumin has the best potential against macrophage-associated inflammation,” Young said.
Inflammation triggered by overactive macrophages has been linked to cardiovascular disease, disorders that accompany obesity, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and lupus-related nephritis. -PTI
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