Medicinal Plants
Medicinal Plants
Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is native to India and is cultivated throughout most of Southeast Asia. Curcumin is a hydrophobic polyphenolic phytochemical found in the root of turmeric and is the primary active agent in the plant. Traditionally, turmeric and other curcuminoids –curcumin comprises 75% of all curcuminoids – have been used in therapeutic preparations for various ailments across the globe. Because of its ability to react with a wide range of molecular targets, curcumin can affect numerous biochemical cascades. It is a member of the linear diarylheptanoid class of natural products defined as having two substituted aryl moieties that are linked together through a seven carbon chain.
Besides curcumin, other analogues such as bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) and cyclocurcumin are also available in turmeric. Although these three curcuminoids only differ in chemical structure with regard to methoxy substitution on the phenolic rings, they differ in their antioxidant, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities. For example, the hydrogen bonding interaction between the phenolic –OH and the o-methoxy groups in curcumin influences the O-H bond energy and H atom abstraction by free radicals, thus making it a better scavenger of free radicals compared to other curcuminoids such as BDMC.
Though curcumin has been shown to affect a great number of biochemical systems, a pathway of perhaps the most interest is the anticancer effects is has to offer. In the past century studies have shown the anticancer effects of curcumin in multitude of anatomical sites; this anticancer potential has been demonstrated both in vivo and in vitro. Almost 3000 studies with regard to curcumin have shown that this natural product affects numerous pathways correlated to tumorigenisis by suppressing phorbol-ester induced tumor promotion and thus has potential for both prevention and treatment of cancer.
While the effects of curcumin are be applicable to the more morbid illnesses, it can also offer treatment for more subtle afflictions, one being the healing process for cutaneous wounds. Research has shown that simple topical application of turmeric at the site of injury will promote healing of the wound. This trait was examined in rats given surgical incisions to test the time it takes to heal. Biopsies of the wound showed reepithelialzation of the epidermis, increased migration of myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, and macrophages in the wound bed. The dermis displayed extensive neovascularization as well as a great deal of collagen deposition in curcumin treated wounds.
In addition to its medical uses, turmeric also holds a great deal of cultural significance. Turmeric was listed in the Assyrian list of herbs in 600 BC. It was found to be entered in Materia Medica compiled by Dioscordides. Its bright yellow color and bitter taste are novel characteristics for turmeric’s earliest uses. The aromatic, pungent, and spicy-flavored turmeric root is a main ingredient in many Indian curries. This tropical herb is a chief dietary spice throughout Asia and India. Additionally, in the US curcumin is used as a coloring agent in cheese, spices, mustard, cereals, soups, ice creams, and yogurts.
Curcumin has been tested to show resistance to a myriad of noteworthy ailments other than cancer such as: diabetes, HIV replication, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease just to name a few. How curcumin produces its therapeutic effects is not fully understood at this point, though researchers hold that many of the effects are produced through the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory action of curcumin. Additionally curcumin has been shown to react with more than a dozen different cellular proteins and enzymes, this promiscuity and high degree of biological activity make turmeric a natural product of great undiscovered wealth.
“Each spice has a special day to it. For turmeric it is Sunday, when light drips fat and butter-colored into the bins to be soaked up glowing, when you pray to the nine planets for love and luck.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Mistress of Spices
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Tumeric - Tim Pham