Shown to reverse inflammation associated with obesity and improves blood sugar control
SAN
FRANCISCO (June 20, 2008) – Turmeric, an Asian spice found in many
curries, has a long history of use in reducing inflammation, healing
wounds and relieving pain, but can it prevent diabetes? Since
inflammation plays a big role in many diseases and is believed to be
involved in onset of both obesity and Type 2 diabetes, Drew
Tortoriello, M.D., an endocrinologist and research scientist at the
Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center, and
his colleagues were curious what effect the herb might have on diabetic
mice.
Dr. Tortoriello, working with pediatric resident Stuart
Weisberg, M.D., Ph.D., and Rudolph Leibel, M.D., fellow endocrinologist
and the co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, discovered
that turmeric-treated mice were less susceptible to developing Type 2
diabetes, based on their blood glucose levels, and glucose and insulin
tolerance tests. They also discovered that turmeric-fed obese mice
showed significantly reduced inflammation in fat tissue and liver
compared to controls. They speculate that curcumin, the
anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant ingredient in turmeric, lessens insulin
resistance and prevents Type 2 diabetes in these mouse models by
dampening the inflammatory response provoked by obesity.
Their findings are the subject of a soon-to-be published paper in Endocrinology and were presented at ENDO 2008, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco this week.
Turmeric
(Curcuma longa) has no known dose-limiting toxicities in doses of up to
at least 12 grams daily in humans. The researchers tested high-doses of
a dietary curcumin in two distinct mouse models of obesity and Type 2
diabetes: high-fat-diet-fed male mice and leptin-deficient obese female
mice, with lean wild-type mice that were fed low-fat diets used as
controls.
The inflammation associated with obesity was shown
several years ago by researchers in the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center to
be due in part to the presence of immune cells called macrophages in
fat tissues throughout the body. These cells produce "cytokine"
molecules that can cause inflammation in organs such as the heart, and
islets of the pancreas, while also increasing insulin resistance in
muscle and liver. Researchers hypothesized that by suppressing the
number and activity of these cells, with turmeric or a drug with
similar actions, it may be possible to reduce some of the adverse
consequences of obesity.
Curcumin administration was also
associated with a small but significant decline in body weight and fat
content, despite level or higher calorie consumption, suggesting that
curcumin beneficially influences body composition.
"It's too
early to tell whether increasing dietary curcumin [through turmeric]
intake in obese people with diabetes will show a similar benefit," Dr.
Tortoriello said. "Although the daily intake of curcumin one might have
to consume as a primary diabetes treatment is likely impractical, it is
entirely possible that lower dosages of curcumin could nicely
complement our traditional therapies as a natural and safe treatment."
For
now, the conclusion that Dr. Tortoriello and his colleagues have
reached is that turmeric – and its active anti-oxidant ingredient,
curcumin – reverses many of the inflammatory and metabolic problems
associated with obesity and improves blood-sugar control in mouse
models of Type 2 diabetes.
In addition to exploring novel
methods of curcumin administration to increase its absorption, they are
also interested in identifying novel anti-inflammatory processes
invoked by curcumin and in adapting those processes in the development
of more potent curcumin analogues.
Source: Columbia University Medical Center
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