Curcumin

Powerful Spices Block Cancer Development
Science Daily July 14, 2005

The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties of curcumin, the powerful yellow spice found in both turmeric and curry powders, have been undergoing intense research in various parts of the world.

According to researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, curcumin blocks a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers.

The spice stops laboratory strains of melanoma from proliferating and pushes the cancer cells to commit suicide by shutting down nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a powerful protein known to induce an abnormal inflammatory response that leads to an assortment of disorders such as arthritis and cancer.

Flavorable Findings
Researchers treated three different melanoma cell lines with curcumin and evaluated the activity of NF-kB, as well as IKK, a protein that triggers NF-kB. Results showed that despite how much curcumin was used, the spice still:

• Prohibited both proteins from being activated
• Worked to stop the growth of melanoma
• Induced cell suicide

More on Curcumin
Curcumin has long been utilized in India and other Asian nations for multiple uses, including a food preservative, a coloring agent, a folk medicine to cleanse the body and as a spice to flavor food.

What's telling, however, is that in India (where the spice is widely used) the prevalence of the top four U.S. cancers — colon, breast, prostate and lung — is 10 times lower.