Major
Pharm.D. (six years)
Advisor
Orr, K. Kelly
Advisor Department
Pharmacy Practice (PHP)
Date
5-2017
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Abstract
Turmeric is a well-known natural product, native to Southeast Asia, commonly
used for a variety of cultural traditions and health benefits. Generally referred
to as curcumin, it is a member of the Zingiberaceae, or ginger family, utilized
for its roots and known for its vibrant yellow hue. Culturally, it is primarily
incorporated into cooking and as an integral part of religious rituals and
ceremonies. Chemically, turmeric is classified as a phenolic compound, made
up of many curcuminoids, each with varying levels of activity. Therapeutically,
its health benefits include anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemia, anti-oxidant
and anti-pruritic properties. The pharmacognosy of curcumin modulates
inflammatory molecules and oxidative stress mediators associated with the
pathology of various conditions.
Measuring clinical improvements in pain scores using various scales such as
the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC)
and the visual analog scale (VAS), reached significance when assessing for
therapeutic efficacy in patients with osteoarthritis. Other studies for pruritus
and hyperlipidemia also reached significance when measuring biomarkers of
oxidative stress and lipid levels to determine therapeutic efficacy in the respective
disease states.
Doses vary based upon the disease state, but most patients typically tolerate
high doses, up to 12 g per day. However, because of its chemistry, turmeric
is poorly absorbed, quickly metabolized, and rapidly eliminated, restricting
therapeutic efficacy and overall bioavailability. Combined piperine formulations
may enhance bioavailability and absorption of curcumin into the body. Other
limitations that exist when determining true therapeutic efficacy of curcumin
include a wide variation of sample populations, with very specific disease
characteristics, and a biased group of researchers because the same group
of authors publish many studies. Therefore, the ability to extrapolate the
conclusions from these trials to the average population is limited.
Ongoing studies are currently exploring therapeutic properties and efficacy of
turmeric in cancer and dementia as a potential future treatment option.
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