Antimicrobial Study - Tumeric

Tumeric is a great herb and used for many ailments and diseases, aiding in minor conditions to serious ones. It has been known to be anti-bacterial/viral, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory medicinal herb. Below are several  abstracts on the study of the herb.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12680238?dopt=Abstract

Anticancer Res. 2003 Jan-Feb;23(1A):363-98.

Anticancer potential of curcumin: preclinical and clinical studies.

Aggarwal BB, Kumar A, Bharti AC.
Cytokine Research Section, Department of Bioimmunotherapy, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Box 143, Houston, TX, USA. aggarwal@mdanderson.org

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a polyphenol derived from the plant Curcuma longa, commonly called turmeric. Extensive research over the last 50 years has indicated this polyphenol can both prevent and treat cancer. The anticancer potential of curcumin stems from its ability to suppress proliferation of a wide variety of tumor cells, down-regulate transcriiption factors NF-kappa B, AP-1 and Egr-1; down-regulate the expression of COX2, LOX, NOS, MMP-9, uPA, TNF, chemokines, cell surface adhesion molecules and cyclin D1; down-regulate growth factor receptors (such as EGFR and HER2); and inhibit the activity of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, protein tyrosine kinases and protein serine/threonine kinases. In several systems, curcumin has been described as a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Evidence has also been presented to suggest that curcumin can suppress tumor initiation, promotion and metastasis. Pharmacologically, curcumin has been found to be safe. Human clinical trials indicated no dose-limiting toxicity when administered at doses up to 10 g/day. All of these studies suggest that curcumin has enormous potential in the prevention and therapy of cancer. The current review describes in detail the data supporting these studies.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12676044?dopt=Abstract

J Altern Complement Med. 2003 Feb;9(1):161-8
Safety and anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin: a component of tumeric (Curcuma longa).

Chainani-Wu N.
Department of Stomatology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0658, USA. nitacwu@itsa.ucsf.edu

INTRODUCTION: Tumeric is a spice that comes from the root Curcuma longa, a member of the ginger family, Zingaberaceae. In Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), tumeric has been used for its medicinal properties for various indications and through different routes of administration, including topically, orally, and by inhalation. Curcuminoids are components of tumeric, which include mainly curcumin (diferuloyl methane), demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcmin. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this systematic review of the literature was to summarize the literature on the safety and anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin. METHODS: A search of the computerized database MEDLINE (1966 to January 2002), a manual search of bibliographies of papers identified through MEDLINE, and an Internet search using multiple search engines for references on this topic was conducted. The PDR for Herbal Medicines, and four textbooks on herbal medicine and their bibliographies were also searched. RESULTS: A large number of studies on curcumin were identified. These included studies on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antifungal properties of curcuminoids. Studies on the toxicity and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin have included in vitro, animal, and human studies. A phase 1 human trial with 25 subjects using up to 8000 mg of curcumin per day for 3 months found no toxicity from curcumin. Five other human trials using 1125-2500 mg of curcumin per day have also found it to be safe. These human studies have found some evidence of anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin. The laboratory studies have identified a number of different molecules involved in inflammation that are inhibited by curcumin including phospholipase, lipooxygenase, cyclooxygenase 2, leukotrienes, thromboxane, prostaglandins, nitric oxide, collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interferon-inducible protein, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin-12 (IL-12). CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin has been demonstrated to be safe in six human trials and has demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity. It may exert its anti-inflammatory activity by inhibition of a number of different molecules that play a role in inflammation.

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Please note that I've inserted the common names of herbs used below that are available in the States or Europe.
DD

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11746845?dopt=Abstract

Phytother Res. 2001 Nov;15(7):618-20
Evaluation of Ophthacare eye drops--a herbal formulation in the management of various ophthalmic disorders.

Biswas NR, Gupta SK, Das GK, Kumar N, Mongre PK, Haldar D, Beri S.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.

An open prospective multicentre clinical trial was conducted in patients suffering from various ophthalmic disorders namely, conjunctivitis, conjunctival xerosis (dry eye), acute dacryocystitis, degenerative conditions (pterygium or pinguecula) and postoperative cataract patients with a herbal eye drop preparation (Ophthacare) containing basic principles of different herbs which have been conventionally used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine since time immemorial. These include Carum copticum, Terminalia belirica, Emblica officinalis, Curcuma longa [Tumeric], Ocimum sanctum [Holy Basil], Cinnamomum camphora [Cinnamon], Rosa damascena [Rose] and meldespumapum. These herbs reportedly possess antiinfective and antiinflammatory properties. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the role of this herbal product in a variety of eye ailments. Side effects, if any, were noted during the study. An improvement was observed with the treatment of the herbal eye drop treatment in most cases. There were no side effects observed during the course of the study and the eye drop was well tolerated by the patients. The herbal eye drop Ophthacare has a useful role in a variety of infective, inflammatory and degenerative ophthalmic disorders. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11712783?dopt=Abstract

Anticancer Res. 2001 Jul-Aug;21(4B):2895-900

Phase I clinical trial of curcumin, a chemopreventive agent, in patients with high-risk or pre-malignant lesions.

Cheng AL, Hsu CH, Lin JK, Hsu MM, Ho YF, Shen TS, Ko JY, Lin JT, Lin BR, Ming-Shiang W, Yu HS, Jee SH, Chen GS, Chen TM, Chen CA, Lai MK, Pu YS, Pan MH, Wang YJ, Tsai CC, Hsieh CY.
Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei. andrew@ha.mc.ntu.edu.tw

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a yellow substance from the root of the plant Curcuma longa Linn., has been demonstrated to inhibit carcinogenesis of murine skin, stomach, intestine and liver. However, the toxicology, pharmacokinetics and biologically effective dose of curcumin in humans have not been reported. This prospective phase-I study evaluated these issues of curcumin in patients with one of the following five high-risk conditions: 1) recently resected urinary bladder cancer; 2) arsenic Bowen's disease of the skin; 3) uterine cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN); 4) oral leucoplakia; and 5) intestinal metaplasia of the stomach. Curcumin was taken orally for 3 months. Biopsy of the lesion sites was done immediately before and 3 months after starting curcumin treament. The starting dose was 500 mg/day. If no toxicity > or = grade II was noted in at least 3 successive patients, the dose was then escalated to another level in the order of 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000, and 12,000 mg/day. The concentration of curcumin in serum and urine was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 25 patients were enrolled in this study. There was no treatment-related toxicity up to 8,000 mg/day. Beyond 8,000 mg/day, the bulky volume of the drug was unacceptable to the patients. The serum concentration of curcumin usually peaked at 1 to 2 hours after oral intake of crucumin and gradually declined within 12 hours. The average peak serum concentrations after taking 4,000 mg, 6,000 mg and 8,000 mg of curcumin were 0.51 +/- 0.11 microM, 0.63 +/- 0.06 microM and 1.77 +/- 1.87 microM, respectively. Urinary excretion of curcumin was undetectable. One of 4 patients with CIN and 1 of 7 patients with oral leucoplakia proceeded to develop frank malignancies in spite of curcumin treatment. In contrast, histologic improvement of precancerous lesions was seen in 1 out of 2 patients with recently resected bladder cancer, 2 out of 7 patients of oral leucoplakia, 1 out of 6 patients of intestinal metaplasia of the stomach, I out of 4 patients with CIN and 2 out of 6 patients with Bowen's disease. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that curcumin is not toxic to humans up to 8,000 mg/day when taken by mouth for 3 months. Our results also suggest a biologic effect of curcumin in the chemoprevention of cancer.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12577327?dopt=Abstract

Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2001 Mar;21(3):165-7

A controlled clinical study between hepatic arterial infusion with embolized curcuma aromatic oil and chemical drugs in treating primary liver cancer
[Article in Chinese]

Cheng JH, Chang G, Wu WY.
Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness, toxicity and prospective application of hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) with Embolized Curcuma Aromatic oil (CAO) in treating primary liver cancer (PLC). METHODS: In the treated group, 32 patients with PLC were treated by HAI with 1-3 ml of embolized CAO and oral administration of Chinese herbal medicine. In the control group, 32 patients with PLC were treated with transcatheter artery chemoembolization (TACE). RESULTS: In the treated group, one patient attained complete remission (CR) and 13 partial remission (PR), the total effective rate being 43.75%. The level of alpha fetal protein (AFP) turned to normal range in 7 cases and decreased in other 7. In the control group, 10 obtained PR and the total effective rate being 31.25%, AFP level turned to normal in 5 and decreased in 2. There was no statistical significance between the two groups. The incidences of post-embolism syndrome, such as fever, abdominal pain and vomiting were similar between the two groups but no myelosuppression occurred in the treated group with significant difference (P < 0.01) as comparing with that in the control group. The mean survival time, median survival time, 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rate in the treated group was 11.5 months, 10 months, 37.5%, 13.3% and 6.9% respectively, while in the control group was 7.25 months, 6 months, 15.6%, 3.2% and 0 respectively. The treated group was better in mean survival time, median survival time and 1-year survival rate than that of the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: HAI with embolized CAO showed a similar favorite effect in treating PLC as that of TACE, but superior than TACE with longer survival time and milder myelosuppression.

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