University of Texas cancer researchers have determined that curcumin, the yellow spice found in tumeric and curry powders, can block the development of a variety of cancers.

The study [...] demonstrates how curcumin stops laboratory strains of melanoma from proliferating and pushes the cancer cells to commit suicide.

It does this, researchers say, by shutting down nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a powerful protein known to promote an abnormal inflammatory response that leads to a variety of disorders, including arthritis and cancer.

Human and animal trials are underway.

Neat. I recently bought a half-pound of curry powder from a bulk food place. I guess I'll be sifting it on even more food now.

Posted by: Stefan Jones on July 11, 2005 2:51 PM

The same ingredient shows evidence of lowering cholesterol.

Posted by: David Foley on July 11, 2005 4:32 PM

[trivia]It does not, however, affect the early stages of HIV-1 replication. I know this because I tested it myself as part of a project looking at ways to screen small molecule libraries for that particular antiviral property. It was easily obtained and has some resemblance to more promising molecules, so we threw it in the mix. [/trivia]

Posted by: sennoma on July 11, 2005 8:15 PM

India has a lot of cancer cases, nonetheless.

Posted by: Rohit Gupta on July 12, 2005 1:20 AM

I was wondering if turmeric is water soluble. I take a tsp. in the morning and a tsp. in the evening mixed into a big glass of water. I've read that it should be taken with ghee or milk, but never read that is works just mixed up in water. Even so, I've been taking it for about a week now and I haven't really notice much yet, except for a bit of a reduction in my appetite, and an acne problem that seems to be improving -- although that coudl have something to do with the extra water I'm drinking too. I'm taking it on the advice of a friend of mine from India who said in auyervedic medicine, turmeric can be used as a tonic to balance the systems of the body in times of stress.

Posted by: Sandi on July 12, 2005 8:07 AM

I told my Biochem and Mol Bio friends about this (mostly as an arguement to their dislike of curry) and got this response:

"NF-kB, which is mentioned in the article is also part of the NORMAL immune and inflamation response, so if the lower cancer rate in India is due to curry, it's at least conceivable that the higher rate of almost all known infectious diseases in India (from the plague to polio) is also due to the curry.

This could also contribute to the apparent lower cancer rate in India, basically beacause people catch an infectious disease and die before they have the chance to develope cancer."

I was wondering if there had been any similar responses to this research?

Posted by: Katie on July 13, 2005 12:40 PM