News & Tech

Can curry fight cancer? According to Tohoku University researcher Hiroyuki Shibata, M.D., curcumin is one of the most widely studied plant-based chemicals with anti-cancer properties. Research has associated curcumin with several distinct actions, including the suppression of genes that promote cell growth (for example, the destruction of the pro-cancerous protein alpha-catenin), and induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis) in colorectal cancer, Science Daily reports.

And ABC news is reporting that even though some studies have suggested that curcumin, the yellowish component in turmeric that gives curry its flavor, can suppress tumors and that people who eat lots of curry may be less prone to the disease but notes that curcumin loses its anti-cancer attributes quickly after being ingested.


Scientists now say they have created two variations which are more potent and longer lasting that natural curcumin. They tested them in mice with colorectal cancer and found that they worked 30 times better. The synthetic versions may also be able to fight cancers of the stomach, breast, pancreas and lung.

"Our new analogues have enhanced growth suppressive abilities against colorectal cancer cell lines, up to 30 times greater than natural curcumin," said Shibata, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Oncology at the Institute of Development. The report is in the latest issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.