Indian curry spice boosts immunity Image credit: Wikimedia commons |
Researchers have found a new health benefit associated
with eating Indian spices; specifically from curcumin, found in turmeric.
In
the study, researchers discovered turmeric naturally boosts immunity by
activating a protein in the body that helps fight infection. Curcumin has a previously
unknown benefit for health.
Curcumin could protect against infection from
bacteria, fungus
The study that comes from the Linus Pauling Institute at OSU, published in the Journal
of Nutritional Biochemistry, shows
curcumin could protect humans from bacteria, viruses and fungus.
Turmeric has been shown to have potential medicinal applications for fighting cancer, reducing pain from arthritis and neuropathy,enhancing the effect of chemotherapy in head and neck cancers, combating
obesity and protecting from diabetes.
In the new study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health and included researchers from Copenhagen, the Indian spice
was found to regulate expression of cathelicidin
antimicrobial peptide, or CAMP, which plays a role in immunity.
"This research points
to a new avenue for regulating CAMP gene expression," said Adrian Gombart
in a media release. Gombart is an associate professor of biochemistry and
biophysics in the Linus Pauling Institute. "It's interesting and somewhat
surprising that curcumin can do that, and could provide another tool to develop
medical therapies.
Gombart adds that turmeric
in curcumin isn’t as potent for boosting immunity as is vitamin D. He suggests
that consuming the Indian spice in low levels regularly could have health
benefits that add up over time; especially for protecting the stomach and
gastrointestinal tract from infection.
Chunxiao Guo, a graduate
student, and Gombart looked at adding omega-3 fatty acids to curcumin
for health benefits. They found no added benefit with omega-3, but the immune
fighting protein CAMP was tripled with turmeric.
CAMP is also believed to
protect from tuberculosis. Finding a way to curb tuberculosis has been a recent
focus of researchers as resistant strains of the bacteria emerge. Turmeric,
found in the Indian spice curcumin, is shown to have an added health benefit that
wasn’t previously known and could help humans fight infection. You can add the
spice for cooking or purchase as supplements for daily consumption.
Source:
May 25, 2012
Comments