Phytomedicine. 2009 Dec;16(12):1137-43. Epub 2009 Jul 4.

Effects of a turmeric extract (Curcuma longa) on chronic ultraviolet B irradiation-induced skin damage in melanin-possessing hairless mice.

Sumiyoshi M, Kimura Y.

Division of Functional Histology, Department of Functional Biomedicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Ehime University, Toon City, Ehime 791-0295, Japan.

Turmeric (the rhizomes of Curcuma longa L., Zingiberacease) is widely used as a dietary pigment and spice, and has been traditionally used for the treatment of inflammation, skin wounds and hepatic disorders in Ayurvedic, Unani and Chinese medicine. Although the topical application or oral administration of turmeric is used to improve skin trouble, there is no evidence to support this effect. The aim of this study was to clarify whether turmeric prevents chronic ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiated skin damage. We examined the effects of a turmeric extract on skin damage including changes in skin thickness and elasticity, pigmentation and wrinkling caused by long-term, low-dose ultraviolet B irradiation in melanin-possessing hairless mice. The extract (at 300 or 1000 mg/kg, twice daily) prevented an increase in skin thickness and a reduction in skin elasticity induced by chronic UVB exposure. It also prevented the formation of wrinkles and melanin (at 1000 mg/kg, twice daily) as well as increases in the diameter and length of skin blood vessels and in the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). Prevention of UVB-induced skin aging by turmeric may be due to the inhibition of increases in MMP-2 expression caused by chronic irradiation.

Source: PubMed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19577913

J Nat Prod. 2006 Mar;69(3):351-5.

Turmeric extracts containing curcuminoids prevent experimental rheumatoid arthritis.

Funk JL, Oyarzo JN, Frye JB, Chen G, Lantz RC, Jolad SD, Sólyom AM, Timmermann BN.

Arizona Center for Phytomedicine Research, Department of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85724, USA. [email protected]

Turmeric has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for inflammatory disorders including arthritis. On the basis of this traditional usage, dietary supplements containing turmeric rhizome and turmeric extracts are also being used in the western world for arthritis treatment and prevention. However, to our knowledge, no data are available regarding antiarthritic efficacy of complex turmeric extracts similar in composition to those available for use as dietary supplements. Therefore, the studies described here were undertaken to determine the in vivo efficacy of well-characterized curcuminoid-containing turmeric extracts in the prevention or treatment of arthritis using streptococcal cell wall (SCW)-induced arthritis, a well-described animal model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Arthritic index, a clinical measure of joint swelling, was used as the primary endpoint for assessing the effect of extracts on joint inflammation. An essential oil-depleted turmeric fraction containing 41% of the three major curcuminoids was efficacious in preventing joint inflammation when treatment was started before, but not after, the onset of joint inflammation. A commercial sample containing 94% of the three major curcuminoids was more potent in preventing arthritis than the essential oil-depleted turmeric fraction when compared by total curcuminoid dose per body weight. In conclusion, these data (1) document the in vivo antiarthritic efficacy of an essential oil-depleted turmeric fraction and (2) suggest that the three major curcuminoids are responsible for this antiarthritic effect, while the remaining compounds in the crude turmeric extract may inhibit this protective effect.

Source: PubMed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16562833

Nat Prod Res. 2006 Jun;20(7):680-5.

Anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes from Curcuma zedoaria.

Makabe H, Maru N, Kuwabara A, Kamo T, Hirota M.

Sciences of Functional Foods, Graduate School of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Kami-ina, Nagano 399-4598, Japan. [email protected]

From the methanolic extract of the rhizome of Curcuma zedoaria, we isolated anti-inflammatory sesquiterpene furanodiene (1) and furanodienone (2) along with new sesquiterpene compound 3 and known eight sesquiterpenes, zederone (4), curzerenone (5), curzeone (6), germacrone (7), 13-hydroxygermacrone (8), dehydrocurdione (9), curcumenone (10), and zedoaronediol (11). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. The anti-inflammatory effect of isolated components on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced inflammation of mouse ears were examined. Compounds 1 and 2 suppressed the TPA-induced inflammation of mouse ears by 75% and 53%, respectively, at a dose of 1.0 micromol. Their activities are comparable to that of indomethacin, the normally used anti-inflammatory agent.

Source: PubMed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16901812