Turmeric may help offer treatments for colon cancer, psoriasis, Alzheimer's.Byline: ANI Washington, Nov 5 (ANI): Curcumin, an ingredient commonly found in yellow curry, is being viewed as a promising disease-fighter. Scientists are working on developing nano-sized capsules containing the curry ingredient in an effort to improve its absorption and effectiveness in the body. Curcumin is a potent 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 found in the Indian spice called 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 . The research team is developing nano-size capsule that would boost the body's uptake of curcumin and help fight several diseases. Trials are underway to test its safety and effectiveness in fighting colon cancer colon cancer, cancer of any part of the colon (often called the large intestine). Colon cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. , psoriasis, and 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. . The digestive juice in the gastrointestinal tract quickly destroys curcumin so that little actually gets into the blood. It is already known that encapsulating insulin and certain other drugs into structures called liposomes Liposomes Aqueous compartments enclosed by lipid bilayer membranes; liposomes are also known as lipid vesicles. Phospholipid molecules consist of an elongated nonpolar (hydrophobic) structure with a polar (hydrophilic) structure at one end. can boost absorption. The scientists prepared the liposomes encapsulating curcumin and fed them to laboratory rats. They found that encapsulating more than quadrupled absorption of curcumin, and also boosted antioxidant levels in the blood. The researchers said that encapsulating process could be an answer to the problem of increasing curcumin's absorption in the digestive environment of the gastrointestinal tract. The study appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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