Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Turmeric's protective effects on the cardiovascular system...

Turmeric
Curcuma longa, and year long herb, is a member of the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family. The plant grows to a height of three to five feet, and is cultivated extensively in Asia, India, China, and other countries with a tropical climate. It has oblong, pointed leaves and bears funnel-shaped yellow flowers.
The rhizome is usually boiled, cleaned, and dried, yielding a yellow powder. Dried Curcuma longa is the source of the spice turmeric, the ingredient that gives curry powder its characteristic yellow color. Turmeric is used extensively in foods for both its flavor and color.
Turmeric has a long tradition of use in the Ayurved, particularly as an anti-inflammatory agent, and for the treatment of flatulence, menstrual difficulties, hematuria, hemorrhage, and colic. Turmeric can also be applied topically in poultices to relieve pain and inflammation.
Active Constituents
The active constituents of turmeric are the flavonoid curcumin and volatile oils including tumerone, atlantone, and zingiberone. Other constituents include sugars, proteins, and resins. The best researched active constituent is curcumin, which comprises 0.3 to 5.4 percent of raw turmeric.
Health benefits
Antioxidant Effects
Water- and fat-soluble extracts of turmeric and its curcumin component exhibit strong antioxidant activity, comparable to vitamins C and E. Incubation (18 hours) with curcumin resulted in enhanced cellular resistance to oxidative damage. Curcumin's antioxidant role in down-regulating nitric oxide formation, a key element in inflammation and possibly in the process of carcinogenesis.
Anti-inflammatory Effects
In numerous studies, curcumin's anti-inflammatory effects have been shown to be comparable to the potent drugs but without any toxicity. Curcuma longa significantly reduced inflammatory swelling and inhibiting pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid, as well as neutrophil function during inflammatory action.
Cardiovascular Effects
Turmeric's protective effects on the cardiovascular system include lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels, decreasing susceptibility of low density lipoprotein (LDL) to lipid peroxidation, and inhibiting platelet aggregation.
Other turmeric applications
Natural remedies such as turmeric, have been used topically for the avoidance and treatment of many conditions. For example, turmeric is used as treatment of wound, burns, including sun burns and psoriasis as well as in body lotions, moisturizers, antiseptic agents, beauty aids, allergic reaction formulations, anti-inflammatory products, anti-cancer products, anti-aging products, anti-oxidant products and osteoporosis products, including vitamin D. Turmeric extract inhibits the growth of a variety of bacteria, parasites, and pathogenic fungi.
System-Wide, Safe, Multimodal Defense
Turmeric has powerful anti-cancer and chemo preventive powers. Turmeric’s multi-targeted actions block multiple forms of cancer before they manifest and yield compelling results in combating a remarkably broad array of cancers, including those of the breast, uterus, cervix, prostate, and GI tract..
By blocking the inflammatory master molecule nuclear factor-kappaB (or NF-kB), curcumin blunts cancer-causing inflammation, slashing levels of inflammatory cytokines throughout the body. Curcumin also interferes with production of dangerous advanced glycation end products that trigger inflammation which can lead to cancerous mutation.
Curcumin alters cellular signaling to enhance healthy control over cellular replication, which tightly regulates the cellular reproductive cycle, helping to stop uncontrolled proliferation of new tissue in tumors. It promotes apoptosis in rapidly reproducing cancer cells without affecting healthy tissue.
In addition, curcumin regulates tumor suppressor pathways and triggers mitochondrial-mediated death in tumor tissue, thereby increasing the death of cancer cells.
Finally, curcumin interferes with tumor invasiveness and blocks molecules that would otherwise open pathways to penetration of tissue. It also helps to starve tumors of their vital blood supply and it can oppose many of the processes that permit metastases to spread.
 

1 comment:

  1. Hey Thanks for sharing this blog its very helpful to implement in our work.






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