Canberra, Australia (ISJ) – Turmeric has been part of Indians’ culinary ingredient for over 4,000 years and considered for its therapeutic properties like anti-inflammatory, healing, digestive and liver problems and skin diseases.
Health scientists at the University of Newcastle’s Nutraceuticals Research Group is now studying its efficacy to treat type 2 diabetes. The clinical study is being done by scientists led by Professor Manohar Garg, Head of the Research Group.
“The root cause of type 2 diabetes is systemic inflammation, which impacts insulin secretion and function” said Professor Garg “We want to nip the inflammation in the bud. This study will use two bioactive compounds that we find in food – curcumin and omega-3 fat. Both are very important anti-inflammatory agents.”
Curcumin, derived from turmeric, is part of the ginger family and commonly used for food colouration. Its healing properties are well known in India, according to Professor Garg.
“Turmeric has been used for centuries to promote healing of bruises, sprains, wounds and inflammation. When I was injured or had inflammation as a child, my mother would put a teaspoon of turmeric powder into a glass of milk and make me drink it – I’d get a good sleep and feel better when I woke up,” he said.
“Nowadays in India the level of curcumin (turmeric) intake has dropped considerably as people switch to Westernised fast foods, and it parallels with a significant rise in type 2 diabetes cases. In fact the disease is now an epidemic in India and may soon be the number one health burden.”
The randomised control trial will test both compounds, with the recruitment group being segregated into four. One will get curcumin only, the second will get omega-3 fat only, the third will receive both, and the fourth will serve as a control group. The capsules contain 200 milligrams of curcumin and 1 gram of omega-3 fat respectively.
People who are prone to develop diabetes because of impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose, and who are aged between 30 and 70 will be part of the trial.
“The anti-inflammatory mechanisms surrounding curcumin and omega-3 fats are different, so we want to test if they complement each other and have treatment synergies beyond their individual effects,” Professor Garg added. “Our thinking is that the combination is safe, free of any side- effects and may prove to be as effective as drugs used for management of diabetes”.
Curcumin is also a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants scavenge molecules in the body known as free radicals, which damage cell membranes, tamper with DNA, and even cause cell death. Antioxidants can fight free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause.
In addition, curcumin lowers the levels of two enzymes in the body that cause inflammation. It also stops platelets from clumping together to form blood clots.
Research by scientists at University of Maryland Medical Centre, USA suggests turmeric may be helpful for the following conditions:
