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Curry spice may fight Alzheimer’s

The pigment that gives curry spice its yellow hue may also be able to break up the “plaques” that mark the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients, early research suggests.

Scientists found that curcumin, a component of the yellow curry spice turmeric, was able to reduce deposits of beta-amyloid proteins in the brains of elderly lab mice that ate curcumin as part of their diets.

In addition, when the researchers added low doses of curcumin to human beta-amyloid proteins in a test tube, the compound kept the proteins from aggregating and blocked the formation of the amyloid fibers that make up Alzheimer’s plaques. Accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins in the brain is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

The new findings suggest that curcumin could be capable of both treating Alzheimer’s and lowering a person’s risk of developing the disease, said study co-author Dr Gregory M Cole of the University of California Los Angeles and the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

Cole and his colleagues have gotten funding to begin a small trial in humans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. “The big question is how high are the doses we need to fight Alzheimer’s and are they really safe in elderly patients?” he told Reuters Health.

The current findings, published online recently by the Journal of Biological Chemistry, add to the body of research pointing to curcumin’s medicinal value. Long used as part of traditional Indian medicine, curcumin is now under study as a potential cancer therapy, and animal research has suggested the compound might serve as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis. reuters

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