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March 16, 2005
Curry may help curb Alzheimer's
Curcumin, which gives tumeric its colour, has been found by researchers to be useful for more than adding flavour to food.
A hot spicy curry might burn your tongue and drive you to the nearest tap. But it has a key ingredient which could be an important weapon in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, scientists have found that curcumin stops the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids which build up in the brains of sufferers.
Curcumin is the part of turmeric that gives it its distinctive yellow colour.
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Tumeric - the new miracle spice? |
| Amyloid plaques - the abnormal build-up of a protein fragment known as beta amyloids - are responsible for memory loss in Alzheimer's disease. |
| Scientists have found that curcumin, the part of turmeric that gives it its distinctive yellow colour, stops the accumulation of beta amyloids that build up in the brains of sufferers. Besides that, the spice also blocks the plaques from developing in the first place. |
Tumeric, which has a subtle, almost bland, taste, has already been found to slow prostate cancer.
With this recent finding, it could eventually be used as a drug or supplement to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease, in much the same way as drugs like statins are used to prevent heart attacks.
Experts say that amyloid plaques - the abnormal build-up of a protein fragment known as beta amyloids - are responsible for memory loss in Alzheimer's disease.
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), found that the spice not only prevented the build-up of beta amyloids in mice with the degenerative brain disease, but would also block the plaques from developing in the first place.
The study found curcumin crossed the blood-brain barrier to eliminate amyloid build-up and reduced it by up to 21 per cent.
Doctors believe the low levels of Alzheimer's disease in India and other curry-eating countries could be due to the effects of curcumin.
In earlier studies, the same research team found that curcumin was a powerful antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties, which they believed help ease the symptoms of Alzheimer's.
These symptoms include inflammation of brain tissue and damage to cells caused by a process called oxidisation, a release of harmful chemicals that can cause cancer and heart disease.
'Curcumin has been used for thousands of years as a safe anti-inflammatory remedy in Indian traditional medicine. The prospect of finding a safe and effective new approach to both the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's is tremendously exciting,' said chief investigator Gregory Cole, a professor of medicine and neurology at UCLA.
The team has now started human trials that could eventually lead to the development of a drug.
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