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Posted on Apr 12, 2010, 6 a.m.
Curcumin, the Indian spice that gives turmeric its bright color, reduces inflammatory diseases of the liver, in an animal model.
Previous studies have elucidated an anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin, the Indian spice gives turmeric its bright color and is used in curry dishes. Michael Trauner, from the Medical University Graz (Austria), and colleagues looked at a mouse model of liver damage caused by progressive inflammatory illnesses, including primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. The researchers assessed the liver tissue before and after adding curcumin to the animals’ diet for a period of four or eight weeks. The team found that curcumin in the diet resulted in fewer blockages of the bile duct and less damage to cells in the liver and scarring (as compared to mice fed a normal diet).
Anna Baghdasaryan, Thierry Claudel, Astrid Kosters, Judith Gumhold, Dagmar Silbert, Andrea Thuringer, Katharina Leski, Peter Fickert, Saul J Karpen, Michael Trauner. “Curcumin improves sclerosing cholangitis in Mdr2−/− mice by inhibition of cholangiocyte inflammatory response and portal myofibroblast proliferation.” Gut 2010;59:521-530; doi:10.1136/gut.2009.186528.
