NAME:
Turmeric or Curcumin

 

LATIN NAME:
Curcuma longa, Linn; Curcuma domestica, Val.

 

Indian saffron, souchet

 

Zingiberaceae

MAIN CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS:
Minerals (lots)
Starch (50%)
Essential oil (turmerone, fluidifies the blood)
Yellow colouring (curcumin)
Resin

 

Rhizome (the root)

 

India and Southern Asia

 

DESCRIPTION:
A perennial plant that can reach from 50cm to 1m in height.  The root is a tuberous rhizome with a yellow interior.  The leaves branch off long-limbed stalks, and measure up to 45cm long and up to 18cm wide.  The inflorescence bracts are greenish-white, and the uppermost bracts are tinged with white and pink.

Turmeric powder, extracted from the plant's rhizome, has been used for many years in South-East Asia to flavour and conserve foods.  It has a peppery, bitter taste.  It is primarily known for its bright yellow colour, and is often used as a substitute for saffron.  It gives both curry and mustard their famous yellow colour.  Turmeric has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, notably in India, in order to treat a variety of problems such as gastro-intestinal problems, inflammation, headaches, infections and colds.  Turmeric was mentioned in an Assyrian herbal dating from approximately 600 BC.  It was also cited in the De Materia Medica penned by the famous Greek physician Dioscorides.

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES AND RESULTS:
Curcumin, extracted from turmeric, is a powerful antioxidant that provides effective protection against the lesions caused by free-radicals.  In 1995, scientific studies showed that curcumin-rich diets reduced oxidative stress.  Indian researchers proved that curcumin inhibits lipid peroxidation and neutralises the radicals superoxide and hydroxyl (Ruby AJ et al, 1995; Selvam M, 1995). Two other studies were published in 2000.  In the first, researchers showed that prolonged exposure of bovine aortic endothelial cells to curcumin resulted in increased cellular resistance to oxidative lesions.  In a separate investigation, researchers discovered that curcumin reduced trichloroethylene-induced oxidative stress in the liver of a mouse.  They concluded that the beneficial effects of curcumin seemed to be derived from its suppressive effects on the increase in cellular peroxisome content, a component that is associated with cellular oxygen use.

Researchers at the University of  California in Los Angeles pointed out that India has one of the lowest Alzheimer's rates in the world, with just 1% of those aged 65 and over developing the illness, whereas in America the figure stands at approximately 10%.  The researchers suggested that curcumin may well have an anti-Alzheimer's effect.  Indeed, the UCLA researchers carried out a rather interesting experiment.  A group of mice were genetically raised to develop Alzheimer's disease, and were then treated with several doses of curcumin.  It was found that relatively low doses of curcumin brought about an improvement in the disease by reversing the pathological changes in the brains of 50% of the mice.  The researchers concluded that consuming curcumin could offer an alternative way of helping to reduce the number of Alzheimer's sufferers.