If you love curry, you are familiar with curcumin. If you don’t like curry, there are other ways to benefit from this incredible nutrient. It is the active ingredient of the large-leafed turmeric rhizome (stem of the plant found underground). This is why curry powder has its golden color. Also known as “Indian saffron.”
While curcumin is an ingredient of turmeric, it is tremendously concentrated and therefore, vastly more powerful medicinally than plain turmeric. Turmeric is a spice while curcumin is the medicine.
Turmeric, or Curcuma Longa as it is formally named, is a multifunctional plant with numerous names. It was call “the golden spice” not only for its magnificent yellow color, but also for its culinary use. Turmeric has been utilized in traditional medicine since the dawn of mankind.
The part of turmeric used in food and medicine is the rhizome. The rhizome is harvested, cleaned, and boiled until it becomes soft, and then dried in the sun in a 5-7 cm thick layer for about 2 weeks. The yield is 10-30%, depending on the variety and the cultivation area. Dried product is milled and marketed. Products prepared in this way are used in diets as spices, and as the basic raw material for the production of the bioflavonoid curcumin. Curcumin is used as an additive, and its main purpose is coloring products yellow and up to red, depending on the pH of the product.
Curcumin is one of the most researched bioflavonoids today and a number of studies have confirmed its benefits listed above.
Curcumin, (bioflavonoids demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin), which are all curcuminoids, and are all part of turmeric. Although there have been significant advancements in cancer treatment, cancer death and incidence rates remain high. As a result, there is an increasing interest in discovering more effective and less hazardous cancer treatments. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Immunology, scientists at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston stated; “Curcumin can suppress tumor initiated, promotion and metastasis.” Pharmacology, curcumin has been found to be safe. Human clinical trials indicated no dose-limiting toxicity when administered at doses up to 10 g per day.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School published their findings that curcumin inhibits angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) which tumors use to nourish themselves as they spread.
Currently curcumin is the most researched bioflavonoids. A number of studies have confirmed its anti-inflammatory, chemoprotective, anticancer, anti-metabolic syndrome, neuroprotective, antibacterial properties and gastroprotective properties and many other health properties.
Cartilage Regeneration
One Canadian study shows that cartilage regenerative can be achieved with the use of curcumin. While helping to reduce inflammation, it can prevent the breakdown of cartilage, preventing arthritis from developing or worsening.
Inflammation
An Italian study showed that people diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis were able to reduce their need for NSAIDS by 63% when they took curcumin. As a welcome side effect in this study, it was discovered that curcumin produced a 16-fold reduction in participants’ blood levels of CRP, the protein that indicates high levels of inflammation, which also predicts a high risk for a heart attack.
In a 2006 study from the University of Arizona takes the idea of inflammation a step further with the finding that curcumin might prevent rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes severe joint pain.
Studies have shown that it is not toxic even at doses up to 12 grams per day, and it is tolerated very well by the human body. Absorption is made easier when curcumin is manufactured with Boswellia, Black Sesame Seed Oil.
A preliminary study in five people with familial adenomatous polyposis (a genetic disorder causing hundreds of intestinal polyps and eventually colorectal cancer) suggested that curcumin might cause regression of polyps in such people and such is the case with other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, a 12-month clinical study in which patient were given 1,500 mg of pur cucurmin twice daily or a placebo found no significant difference in the mean number of polyps or polyp size between the two groups.
Possibly explaining the different outcomes of the studies, the researchers noted the earlier, positive study used a lower total dose of curcumin (480 Mg given three times daily) but it included black pepper extract to increase bioavailability as well as quercetin (20 mg per dose). (Cruz-Correa, Gastroenterology 2028). Another study stated that combining curcumin with black pepper, multiplies the effectiveness of curcumin by 1,000 times.
Tumeric has long been used as a home remedy for coughs, sore throats, and other respiratory problems. As a result turmeric and its compounds have the potential to be used in modern medicine to cure a variety of diseases. In a current review the therapeutic potential of curcumin and its multiple health benefits on various diseases. (Multiple health benefits of curcumin and its therapeutic potential. Published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research, springernature.com. Authors Muddaser Shah, et. al).
Multiple health benefits of curcumin include providing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, chemoprotective, anticancer, and gastroprotective properties, regulation of oxidative stress. preservation of mitochondrial function, reduction of neuroinflammation, improves insulin sensitivity and it can stop the influenza A virus.
ARTHRITIS
There is clinical evidence that curcumin (usually about 1,000 mg per day, but as low as 500 Mg) can treat symptoms (mainly pain and inflammation) of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, although larger studies are needed to confirm these findings before a definitive recommendation can be made (Daily, J Med Food 2026).
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Curcumin may help treat symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, although it is not superior to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and it does not appear to help maintain or prolong remission.
Two small studies have shown that curcumin may reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis including joint swelling and stiffness and walking time. In one study, 1,200 mg of curcumin reduced symptoms, but not as well as the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), phenylbutazone (Deodhar, Indian, J. Med Res, 1980). In another study 500 mg) of diclofenac (an NSAID) twice daily, after 8 weeks. Symptoms were reduced by about 40% from the beginning to the end of the study. Combining the curcumin and diclofenac was no more effective than either one along (Chadran, Phytother, Res. 2023. A weakness of this study is that there was no placebo control group. (Note: The curcumin used in this study, BCM-95 is listed as an ingredient in Terry Naturally CuraMed tested in this Review). This product works great for my spinal pain.
A small study in Iran among 44 women (average age 51) with moderately active rheumatoid arthritis (all of whom were taking prednisolone, 77% of whom were taking methotrexate, and 59% to 77% were taking hydroxychloroquine) showed that taking 500 mg of turmeric extract standardized to 95% (475 mg) of curcumin daily for 8 weeks reduced hydroxychloroquine) showed that taking 500 mg of turmeric extract standardized to 95% (475 mg) of curcumin daily for 8 weeks reduced the number of tender or swollen joints from about 5 to only 1, which was statistically significant compared to the placebo group, which had no meaningful reductions. Joint pain was also significantly reduced with curcumin by 45 points (on a scale of 0 to 100) and disease activity was reduced by 1.69 points (on a scale of 0 to 10) compared to only 3.63 points and 0.05 point reductions in the placebo group (Pourhabibi-Zarandi, Phytother Res 2024.
Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease and other GI Conditions
Curcumin may be helpful for people with ulcerative colitis when taken in addition to standard medications. Although results appear to vary depending on the curcumin formulation and dosage. In one study, 50 people with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis not responsive to medications such as mesalamine treatment, were given 1.5 grams of curcumin twice a day (3 grams per day of curcumin) or placebo for one month with continued mesalamine treatment. At week foru, none of the patients who received placebo achieved remission, while a starting 53.8% of those receiving curcumin did. The curcumin used was Cur-Cure (trade mark) (Bara Herbs, Israel), a 95% pure curcumin preparation (Lang, Clin Gatroenterol Hepatol 2015). A study among 56 men and women in Iran with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis found that 80 mg of an enhanced bioavailability “nanoparticle” formulation of curcumin (similar to Theracurmin) taken three times daily (240 mg per day) in addition to mesalamine for one month modestly decreased urgency of bowel movements and improved self-reported well-being, but did not decrease blood in the stool or colitis-related ulcers compared to mesalamine along (Masoodi, J. Cell Biochem 2018).
One gram of curcumin taken twice daily in addition to mesalamine or sulfasalazine for six months helped maintain remission from ulcerative colitis compared to standard medications plus placebo (Hanai, Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2006), but a lower dose (450 mg of curcumin daily) did not improve remission rates or improve mucosal healing compared to placebo in men and women with active ulcerative colitis taking mesalamine (Kedia, World J. Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther (2017).
The highest medical value of curcmin is its strong antioxidant effect and its binding to inflammatory transcription factors as to precursors whether chronic diseases or tumors. Many more studies are needed to fully confirm and prove its effectiveness in more people. Working with an alternative health cares specialist can help you chose the right dosage and how to take curcumin daily. Health care specialists have access to better and higher grade supplements.
