Path-breaking research: Turmeric as a chemopreventive agent

Promising research in the use of turmeric as a mechanism to fight cancer has been taken up both in the United States and India. At the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, early results of a study in the use of turmeric to halt the action of an active protein responsible for the spread of breast cancer are exceedingly encouraging. The details were published in the October 15 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research (Volume 11, 7490-7498).

Apparently, researchers discovered that turmeric both prevents the spread of cancer to the lungs and also seemingly reverses the effects of paclitaxel (Taxol), the chemotherapy drug generally prescribed for breast cancer, which when used for longer durations, actually has the potential to cause cancer cells to proliferate.

How does this work? The toxicity of the drug, Taxol, activates a protein that produces an inflammatory response that induces metastasis. Curcumin (the active chemical in turmeric) suppresses this response, making it impossible for the cancer to spread. In fact, scientists have found that adding curcumin to Taxol actually enhances its effect. Curcumin breaks down the dose, making the therapy less toxic and just as powerful while delivering the same level of efficacy.

As per the fall 2005 issue of the Anderson Network's quarterly newsletter, Network, "researchers at M. D. Anderson, led by Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D ., say that this pungent yellow spice found in both turmeric and curry powders, also blocks a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers. It shuts down nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a powerful master switch known to regulate expression of more than 300 genes that promote an abnormal inflammatory response that leads to a variety of disorders, including arthritis and cancer."

So what exactly is curcumin? Curcumin is the active chemical ingredient of turmeric, a spice commonly used in Indian curry's to impart a mustard-yellow color. Scientifically, curcumin is diferuloyl methane, the yellow pigment in turmeric (curcuma longa), which besides its newly discovered property of being a potent chemopreventive agent, is also known to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial actions. In its powdered form, turmeric contains 3 to 5 percent curcumin.

Similar research taken up at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Trivandrum (India) suggests that curcumin induces apoptosis in cancer cells from the colon, kidney, blood and liver. Apoptosis or programmed cell death, means that the chemopreventive agent induces a potent mechanism by which they eliminate preneoplastic or cancer cells without harming live, normal cells.

This research follows a study into the use of turmeric as an anti-cervical cancer drug. While developing nations are considered to have 80 percent of the world's cervical cancer cases, India alone is estimated to have one-third of the global cervical cancer cases.

Bhupesh K. Prusty and Bhudev C. Das of the Division of Molecular Oncology, Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology (Indian Council of Medical Research) in New Delhi have found that curcumin has the potential to act as a preventive mechanism for cervical cancer. The majority of cervical cancer cases are caused by an infection of specific types (16 and 18) of human papilloma viruses (HPV). The researchers have found that curcumin inhibits the action of the virus, thus preventing the manifestation of cervical cancer.

In the journal International Journal of Cancer (Volume 113, Issue 6), the research duo have explained that the virus has two key genes, E6 and E7, which bind to a protein in normal human cells rendering the cells cancerous. Curcumin binds with the same human protein, preventing the virus from doing likewise.

In yet another research study by G.B. Mahady, S.L. Pendland, G. Yun and Z.Z. Lu published in the journal Anticancer Research (2002 Nov-Dec; 22(6C): 4179-81), curcumin was found to inhibit the growth of 19 clinical strains of helicobacter pylori, a carcinogenic bacterium linked to the increased risk of gastric and colon cancers.

Apparently, it makes sense to add more than a dash of turmeric to your cooking and indulge in good old Indian curry!