Curry Spice Vs Breast Cancer
Curcumin, a strong antioxidant and the main constituent of turmeric found in curry powder, may help stop cancer in its tracks, according to new research.
In the latest study, curcumin blocked the spread of breast cancer in animals, according to investigators at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. After breast cancers were surgically removed from mice, some were fed curcumin, others were not.
Of the mice given curcumin, very few developed metastatic tumors in their lungs. In contrast, 96% of mice not given curcumin had metastatic lung cancers. Further, curcumin not only stopped progression of the cancer, but also neutralized cancer spread that may occur after long term use of the chemotherapeutic drug Taxol.
Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D., head investigator and professor of cancer medicine at MD Anderson, calls the results “exciting” and says they have implications for the treatment of advanced breast cancer after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Currently, there is no long term effective therapy for metastatic breast cancer, he says.
Curcumin works by shutting down a powerful protein known as nuclear factor-Kappa B (NF-kB), that triggers an inflammatory response needed for breast cancer to spread. When the protein is suppressed by curcumin, cancer cells cannot grow and instead commit suicide. (Source: Aggarwal BB ,Clin Cancer Res 2005;11(20): 7490-8)
In other research, Aggarwal has shown that curcumin similarly blocks the spread of lung cancer. and possibly other cancers related to cigarette smoke. Curcumin has even blocked the ability of cigarette smoke to initiate cancer in cells. Thus, curcumin may not only stop cancer spread but help prevent its occurrence.
Other research finds curcumin very promising against age-related memory loss. In India where people typically consume 200 mg curcumin a day in curried foods, Alzheimer’s rates are very low.
