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Spice takes Sting out of Malaria

New Scientist. Jan:8th '05

CURCUMIN, the chemical that gives turmeric its distinctive yellow colour, might help treat malaria, mouse studies suggest. It has already been shown to combat certain bacteria and reduce the risk of cancer and liver damage.

Now Govindarajan Padmanaban at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and his team have shown that the spice protects mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. Five daily doses given orally to the mice reduced the number of parasites in their blood by over 80 per cent. Nearly a third of the mice were still alive after 20 days, whereas animals not given curcumin hadall died by day 13. (Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol 326, p 472).
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To the person who Emailed me with the question:
>Is Curcumin the same as Cumarin??<

Good question. I am not sure. I dont think so.
And as your Email now bounces, I will not answer.

1) Look at the dose/kg. How yellow do you want to be?

2) Curcumin is a 1,3-diketone. It is a strong chelate for transition metals. You'll flush the whole middle of the Periodic Table out of your body.

3) It's a local spice (turmeric). It's the East Indian verson of a warehouse overflowing with wilted Brussels sprouts.

u) Curcumin is not related to cumarins.

Dealing with malaria is no big deal. The FDA has been quite effective in preventing any local progress. The Third World doesn't give a rat's ass about its citizens' mortality or morbidity. A sickly populaton is not fit to overthrow a strong leader with a well-fed army.

A competent engineer's first task is to determine the real problem.

Curcumin is the yellow compound in turmeric. Coumadin is an anti-coagulant used in rat poisons and as a human medicine in treatment of heart attack.

cou?ma?rin n. A fragrant crystalline compound, C9H6O2, extracted from several plants, such as tonka beans and sweet clover, or produced synthetically and widely used in perfumes.

Hope that helps.

"Amaranth"