Turmeric helps fight killer diseases: Experts
TURMERIC, PRESCRIBED by grandmothers to ward off a range of common ailments, could soon be used to fight killer diseases.
Indian bio-technologists have come up with significant findings: turmeric can fight HIV, malaria and cervical cancer. Tapas Kundu of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore has found that curcumin -- the chemical compound that gives turmeric its yellow colour -- has the potential to stop HIV-infected cells from multiplying.
Govindarajan Padmanaban of the Indian Institute of Science conducted studies on mice and came to the conclusion that curcumin could fight malaria. Though malarial parasites are resistant to drugs, he found that curcumin, along with other drugs, could effectively control the disease.
D. Karunagaran of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram has discovered that curcumin, along with the chemotherapy drug taxol, can fight drugresistant tumours.
Adding further spice to the research, B.C. Das and Bhu pesh Prusty of the Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology in Delhi have reported that curcumin stops cervical cancer by binding itself with a certain human protein.
Das says that though turmeric research has been going on for the last 10 to 15 years and has been known as a potential anti-cancer weapon, findings were never properly interpreted.
Healthy haldi Curcumin, the chemical in turmeric, helps prevent colon, colorectal, prostate, stomach, mouth, breast and other cancers It is also effective in stopping HIV-infected cells from multiplying Curcumin helps relieve arthritis It can cure Alzheimer's and is responsible for low prevalence of dementia among the elderly in India Curcumin lessens heart disease risk by lowering cholesterol levels Studies show it has a positive effect on drug resistant malarial parasites.
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