Damage to the intestinal epithelial cells by medications, other irritants or genetic factors are involved in the pathogenesis of digestive disorders. Curcumin is a biologically active substance present in turmeric and has pharmacological actions that might benefit patients with digestive disorders, such as ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Consult with a physician before self-treating with dietary supplements for any condition.
Curcumin
Curcumin, chemically known as diferuloylmethane, is the yellow pigment of turmeric, or Indian saffron, and has been used for centuries as a dietary component and for a variety of ailments, such as jaundice, menstrual difficulties, hemorrhage, colic, digestive disorders and flatulence. More recently, research has focused on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial properties of curcumin in treating cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders and liver dysfunction.
Anti-inflammatory Actions of Curcumin
In an October 2009 review article appearing in "Molecular Nutrition and Food Research," the authors evaluated current research into the use of curcumin and other dietary constituents on inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. They report that there is good evidence indicating anti-inflammatory actions of curcumin at relatively high dosages to attenuate certain types of colitis in experimental animal models, but the potency is somewhat limited. The authors attribute this lack of activity to include pharmacokinetic limitations, intestinal degradation of the compounds, and general limitations of animal models.
Curcumin and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The January 2009 issue of the "British Journal of Nutrition" published an article detailing the efficacy of curcumin on the pathogenesis of IBD. The authors report that curcumin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but the specific mechanisms of this compound in unclear. They conducted an experiment using multi-drug resistant mice, which develop inflammation of the intestine similar to IBD, to study diet/gene interactions and potential effects of curcumin. They found that curcumin significantly reduced histological signs of colonic inflammation, and analyses suggest that the effect of dietary curcumin on colon inflammation could be via an up-regulation of xenobiotic metabolism, such as drugs foreign to an organism's normal biochemistry, and a down-regulation of pro-inflammatory pathways. These results indicate the potential of gene expression and pathway analyses to better understand the effect of foods on colonic inflammation.
Curcumin and Ulcerative Colitis
A study published in the December 2006 issue of "Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology" assessed the efficacy of curcumin as a therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis, which is an inflammation of the colon. The researchers selected patients for a randomized trial and created two groups: one was treated with anti-inflammatory medication and curcumin twice a day for six months, where the second group received the same medications and a placebo in place of the curcumin. They found that less than 5 percent of the experimental group had a recurrence of the condition compared to more than 20 percent of the control group receiving the placebo. They concluded that curcumin seems to be a promising and safe medication for maintaining remission in patients with ulcerative colitis, but cautioned that further studies need to be conducted to reinforce these findings.
References
- "Molecular Nutrition and Food Research"; Dietary fiber, low-molecular-weight food constituents and colo-rectal inflammation in animal models -- a review; D Schrenk; October 2009.
- "British Joournal of Nutrition"; The effects of dietary curcumin and rutin on colonic inflammation and gene expression in multidrug resistance gene-deficient (mdr1a-/-) mice, a model of inflammatory bowel diseases; K Nones et al.; January 2009.
- "Public Library of Science"; Anti-inflammatory effects of resveratrol, curcumin and simvastatin in acute small intestinal inflammation; S Bereswill et al.; December 2010.
