Curry Spice Holds Potential as Cancer Treatment

Posted on 2009-11-03 06:00:00 in Cancer | Functional Foods |

In a lab model of esophageal cancer, Sharon McKenna, from Cork Cancer Research Centre at the University College Cork and Mercy University Hospital  (Ireland), and colleagues have found that curcumin, an extract found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric, causes the cells to digest themselves.  The team observes that: “Curcumin can induce cell death by a mechanism that is not reliant on apoptosis induction, and thus represents a promising anticancer agent for prevention and treatment of oesophageal cancer.”

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G O'Sullivan-Coyne, G C O'Sullivan, T R O'Donovan, K Piwocka, S L McKenna. “Curcumin induces apoptosis-independent death in oesophageal cancer cells.”  British Journal of Cancer 101, 1585-1595, 6 October 2009; doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605308.`

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