Dear friends: This is the recent conversation I had with "Ask the Doctor" forum. However, the text of my response was not published. I thought youshould know the contents of the text. Please go on and read. Raj ******** ----- Original Message ----- From: "R.Rajaraman" <[log in to unmask]> To: "Ask the Doctor" <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 4:55 PM Subject: Turmeric: the spice for healthy life! > Subject: Curcumin question > From: "Anonymous" <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 15:16:28 -0400 > X-Message-Number: 1 > > Is it reasonable to suppose that people who eat turmeric on a regular basis > would have, if its active ingredient curcumin is neuroprotective, a lower > incidence of Parkinson's than average? If so, are there any studies looking > at comparative rates of Parkinson's between people who eat a lot of curry > and those who never do? > > jcm > **************** > JCM. > > I do not know the answer to your question. > > You may want to flip through the archive as I posted an article on this > compound/tumeric; that showed it is used in chemotherapy and can cause cell > death (apoptosis), so be careful. > *********************** > > Hi: > It is very true one has to take anything with a pinch of salt and this > includes the above statement too, I am afraid. > There are about 1318 publications listed in the pubmed on curcumin. Most of > them deal with the anti-cancer effect of curcumin [Bioorg Med Chem Lett. > 2005. 15: 2738-2744]; and quite a few of them deal with anti-oxidant, > radioprotective, and most importantly the anti-inflammatory properties > [Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2005. 15: 1793-1797] of curcumin. It is true that > curcumin is actively studied for it anti-cancer treatment, which means it > can kill tumor cells [Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2005. 5: 117-129]. That does > not necessarily mean that it will kill all normal cells either. In fact, it > protects normal cells against free-radical damage [Exp Physiol 2005. Feb 22. > Epub ahead of print], against type 2 diabetes [J Agric Food Chem. 2005. > 23:959-963], inhibition of carcinogenesis [Cancer Lett. 2005. 223: 181-190; > Recent Results Cancer Res. 2005. 166: 257-275], anti-aging properties > [Biogerontology 2004. 5: 275-289], protects normal embryonic stem cells and > blastocysts (source of embryonic stem cells) [J cell Physiol 2005. 10: Epub > ahead of print], protect dopaminergic neurons [Neuropharmacology 2002. 42: > 1056-1064], anti-angiogenic (helps prevent vascularization of tumors) [Curr > Pharm Des. 2005. 11: 357-373], inhibits Cox-2 enzyme [Oncogene 2004. 23: > 9247-9258] involved in growth of cancer cells and progression of PD, helps > in cystic fibrosis [Gastroenterology 2004. 127: 1639=1640], inhibits > formation of amyloid beta oligomers and fibrils, binds plaques, and reduces > amyloid in vivo (J Biol Chem. 2005. 280: 5892-5901], induces Glutathione ( a > major anti-oxidant) biosynthesis [Antioxid Redox Signal. 2005. 7: 32-41], > helps in radiation repair and regeneration of wounds [Plast Reconstr Surg. > 2005. 115: 515-528], attenuates ischemia/reperfusion-induced contractility > impairment following cardiopulmonary bypass [J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2005. > 45:301-309; J Surg Res. 2005. 125: 109-106], decreases blood glucose levels > in diabetes mellitus rats [Therapie. 2004. 59: 639-644], preventive and > therapeutic effects in rat colitis [World J Gastroenterol. 2005. 11: > 1747-1752], medicinal use against gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders > [Life Sci 2005. 76: 3089-3105], to cite a few of such references. > Thus, in my opinion, turmeric, a major source of curcumim (both are not > the same) appears to be a spice for healthy life. HOWEVER, I AM NOT A > QUALIFIED MEDICAL DOCTOR TO GIVE ADVICE ON SUCH MATTERS. It is true that > there are no studies specifically on PD patients. However, in my opinion, > there will not be any study of that sort conducted by any pharrmaceutical > company, as far as I can see. This is because nobody can patent turmeric. > Therefore, there is no money to be made by such studies! > I am afraid one has to use his/her own judgement before one considers > taking tumeric. I wouldn't worry about long term effect of tumeric, since > this experiment has been going on in India for thousands of years without > much deleteriosu side effects. In the J Biol Chem studies on amyloid, they > have given a maximum of 3000 mg for three months without any side effects. > Anything in moderation is the rule one has to remember. > People should learn to check the current info on the internet by > punching in "PUBMED" and then searching for the specific info on anything > they have doubt or quesions about. > Raj > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn