Turmeric component kills cancer cells.The curry spice turmeric turmeric: see ginger. turmeric Perennial herbaceous plant (Curcuma longa; family Zingiberaceae), native to southern India and Indonesia. Its tuberous rhizomes have been used from antiquity as a condiment, as a textile dye, and medically as an gets its yellow color from curcumin. This same compound kills cancer cells in laboratory tests, researchers report in the Sept. 20 International Journal of Cancer. When mixed with cells from human head and neck cancers, curcumin stopped proliferation and induced cell suicide, or apoptosis, in the malignant cells, says study coauthor Yasunari Takada, a molecular biologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Curcumin had no effect on healthy, cells. Curcumin is an antioxidant antioxidant, substance that prevents or slows the breakdown of another substance by oxygen. Synthetic and natural antioxidants are used to slow the deterioration of gasoline and rubber, and such antioxidants as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), butylated hydroxytoluene that has anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, it suppressed the activity of NF-kappa-B, a protein that is overproduced in tumor cells. NF-kappa-B switches on genes for proteins involved in inflammation and cell replication. Previous research suggested that curcumin stops proliferation of prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. cells (SN: 5/18/02, p. 317). It also kills human breast and liver cancer Liver Cancer Definition Liver cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer but has a high mortality rate. Liver cancers can be classified into two types. cells in lab cultures, scientists from India report in the September Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. Tests on mice hint that curcumin might fend off Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. , too (SN: 12/8/01 p. 362). Cancer researchers have taken an interest in curcumin because many countries with curry-rich cuisines, such as Sri Lanka, have lower cancer rates than Western countries have. Takada and his coworkers are now screening curcumin's effects on other types of cancer cells, including melanoma.--N.S. |
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