Anticancer effects of turmeric

Turmeric, whose scientific name is Curcuma longa, is a daily cooking ingredient. The gold, deep yellow colour comes from its curcumin. Turmeric is often seen in the recipe of Southern Indian curry dishes. Turmeric is also seen in the array of Indian herbal medicine against ailments. Some doctors may presribe paste made from turmeric to treat insect bites such as mosquito bites. Turmeric can be intaken as anthelminthic to clear parasites and their debris in our intestines. Turmeric is also a cure for urinary diesases, liver diseases and jaundice. Some local Indians would apply turmeric onto wounds and bruises. For relatively more serious illnesses such as chicken pox and small pox, turmeric also yields some effects.

Most interestingly, in traditional Indian medical scriptures, turmeric was listed as a prescription drug. But without modern medical scientific experiments, its anti-cancer effects would remain a claim. So some scientists tested its effects on the suppression of cancer cell growth in mammal body. Some medical academics injected turmeric into mice as a treatment in order to test the effectiveness of turmeric in preventing leukemia.

Using different dosages of turmeric on mice, the scientists discovered that with a higher concentration of turmeric would be effective. By injecting a higher concentration dose of turmeric into mice, the mice would be benefitted from suppressed canceric cell growth. They would also gain lengthend lifespan when compared to the control subjects. But with decreased turmeric concentration in the dose, these therapeutic effects would diminish. In the experiments, the concentration of turmeric may be too high for human's daily consumption. However, the fresh or powdered turmeric from the market you could find would be safe for consumption. Also, in the experiment, turmeric was used as a preventive measure rather than for recovery from cancer. Therefore, I would say that we could include turmeric into our diet as an ingredient of culinary agent.

Please look at the medical experiment documented in this literature. Thank you!

Kuttan, Ramadasan, et al. "Potential anticancer activity of turmeric (Curcuma longa)." Cancer letters 29.2 (1985): 197-202.