Queen of herbs - Turmeric

Turmeric is used in many dishes to add colour and flavour

By Chia Joo Suan
The Star

In recent years, turmeric, known as the queen of herbs, has become known for its healing powers following much research on its therapeutic properties. Curcumin, the yellow pigment in the root, is the primary pharmacological agent in turmeric.

Benefiting our brains
Turmeric has been used extensively in traditional Indian medicine to treat a variety of ailments. It is also a spice commonly used in cooking.

Interestingly, in the elderly Indian population whose diet has turmeric as a common spice, they have very low incidence of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s (online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Dec. 2004).

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that occurs gradually and results in memory loss, unusual behaviour, personality changes and a decline in thinking abilities.

Research has narrowed down to curcumin, the yellow pigment in turmeric, which could work by inhibiting the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brains of Alzheimer patients.
Curcumin has a low molecular weight and polar structure, which allows it to penetrate the blood-brain barrier effectively and binds to the harmful beta amyloid. Curcumin is also capable of break up existing plaques.

Traditional practice
The powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin can explain why turmeric is used in folk cures and as a spice in food.

A teaspoon or more of the extracted juice is effective for treating diarrhoea, flatulence, colic or jaundice. Turmeric is a popular herb for postnatal care to stimulate milk flow and production of red blood cells, dissolving blood clots, easing pain in the abdomen and to treat irregular menstruation.

Turmeric’s combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects explains why many elderly women with joint problems or rheumatic pain find relief when they use the spice regularly.

Fine properties that work
Curcumin also exerts very powerful antioxidant effects, which help to neutralize free radicals and prevent damage to healthy cells and cell membranes.

When patients with rheumatoid arthritis were treated with curcumin or drugs such as phenylbutazone, curcumin produced comparable improvements in terms of shortened duration of morning stiffness, lengthened walking time and reduced joint swelling.

As a strong antioxidant, curcumin protects cells from free radical damages, plus its ability in destroying mutated cells provides protection against cancer, especially of the colon.

Turmeric improves liver function in detoxifying xenobiotic (toxic) chemicals and may reduce the effects of dietary carcinogens.

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