Curcumin is the compound that gives turmeric spice its bright yellow appearance. It has been used in herbal medicine for a variety of inflammatory conditions, including fever, arthritis, and psoriasis. Curcumin not only blocks TNF, but it is an inhibitor of the MAPK p38 system; the MAPK p38 system has been implicated as a critical problem in human infection with H5N1 virus. At present, the Pubmed research database identifies 110 citations when searching for "MAPK curcumin" while the search phrase "TNF curcumin" returns 82 results. Review of these articles makes it clear that curcumin holds great promise as an agent that may reduce the lethal effects of the avian flu cytokine storm.

Curcumin is quite inexpensive. At Vitacost (where I buy most of my supplements), 60 capsules of NSI Turmeric (standardized 95% curcumin) 900 mg cost just under $14 when I last checked - less than the typical co-pay for a prescription.

Absorption of curcumin is modest to poor, but can be increased when co-administered with piperine (a compound found in various species of pepper, including the black pepper found in most kitchens). PMID:9619120 (cache) Several commercial formulations of curcumin include piperine (sometimes called bioperine). Piperine itself inhibits TNF, IL-1, IL-6 and other inflammatory cytokines, although it appears to do so by blocking the NF-Kappa pathway, not the MAPK p38 pathway that is hyperstimulated in avian flu infection. PMID:15531295 (cache)

While it is best to store it at room temperature, it will not be completely inactivated under the un-refrigerated conditions that would destroy the potency of some expensive pharmaceutical TNF blockers. Unlike the pharmaceutical TNF blockers, curcumin is associated with a reduced risk of many types of cancer. In particular, lab studies have shown that curcumin induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in several types of lymphoma. ( citation 1, citation 2, citation 3, citation 4 ).


Disclaimer Topics Page Copyright