Turmeric can soothe gastric inflammation
Turmeric at the optimum dose is highly effective in soothing gastric
inflammation and ulceration, which could be the key to developing new
drugs against such stomach disorders, say Indian scientists.
Turmeric,
which belongs to the ginger family of plants, has been used as an
alternative medicine since the last 3,000 years. It is also known to
have antiseptic properties.
Curcumin is its major component responsible for the spice's yellow colour and its therapeutic effects.
"It
(curcumin) has been shown to be a good cure for gastric ailments like
inflammation and ulceration. While its low doses are not effective, at
high doses it might aggravate the situation. But we have come up with
the optimum dose at which curcumin is therapeutic," Snehasikta
Swarnakar, senior scientist at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology
(IICB)'s Drug Development Diagnostic and Biotechnology Division, who led
the research, told IANS.
IICB is an institute under the Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India's premier industrial
R&D organisation.
Gastric ulceration and inflammation occur
as a side effect to indiscriminate use of pain-killers (non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs) and also due to stress.
Researcher
conducted on rats helped in successfully evaluating the optimum dose.
"For rats, the proper dose is around 50 mg per kg of their body weight,
which is equivalent to 100 mg per kg of body weight in humans," said
Swarnakar.
The study, published in 2012 in the Anti-oxidants and
Redox Signaling Journal, was also the first to shed light on the exact
mechanism by which curcumin aids the healing process.
"This is
the first study to reveal that the presence of curcumin in the system
before or after ulcer development may promote formation of new blood
vessels at the site of healing, and restore collagen fibres - the tissue
that adds structural strength to body parts," said co-researcher
Nilanjana Maulik of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine,
Farmington, US.
NSAIDs like indomethacin breaks up the blood
vessel network in the stomach tissues and disrupts the collagen fibres -
the tissue responsible for structural strength.
"Curcumin comes
to the rescue by regulating the levels of two enzymes involved in the
formation of new blood vessels, Swarnakar said.
One of the
enzymes - MMP-2 - is a house-keeping enzyme that should be present in
the system, and the other - MMP-9 - is inflammatory which is not
required in the body.
"Curcumin increases the levels of MMP-2,
while simultaneously lowering the MMP-9 level. This balance between the
two enzymes is the key to its actions," Swarnakar said.
Turmeric can soothe gastric inflammation
