The turmeric star just keeps shining. Look no further than HerbalGram’s latest Herb Market report for evidence that, years after turmeric first caught the public’s attention, vibrant botanical culture is constantly spinning in stellar performances in both major and natural channels.
"Curcuma longa - a source of turmeric - is one of the most useful plants we have," says Mariko Hill, executive director of product development, Gencor (Irvine, CA). "There is a reason why our ancestors used the roots of the plant in therapeutic treatment for thousands of years." We are just beginning to catch on.
Rachela Mohr, Business Development Manager for Nutritional Products, Vacker Biosolutions, Vacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany), attributes turmeric superstar status to a trio of timely benefits.
First, natural plant extract "at a time when natural products are increasingly important to consumers," she says. Moreover, its history in the Indian Ayurvedic tradition adds to its appeal and its credibility.
Many of these benefits come from the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the root, which help support everything from cognition and mobility to cardio-metabolic and intestinal health. All this explains why Naturek's ManfrA © turmeric is considered "an excellent product for the category of healthy aging, although there is a huge consumer demand for turmeric in all age groups".
Although turmeric could be a public figure due to the benefits of botany, the bright yellow color of that face comes from a family of three pigmented compounds called curcuminoids: curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin.
Curcumin as the "main switch" of inflammation, showing both direct and genomic activity at the level of pro-inflammatory enzymes such as cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase, inflammatory transcription factors NF-κB and AP3, and such inflammatory cytokines as interleukins2.
It is this anti-inflammatory capacity that helps curcumin to inhibit chronic inflammation associated with, for example, arthritis and skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema, adds Gencor's Hill. "It has positive results in strengthening the immune response and preventing disease," she continues.
"Research shows that it can improve the function of the vascular endothelium, facilitating blood flow and reducing the load on the heart.
Studies show that it can improve metabolic disorders by regulating lipid metabolism and increasing insulin sensitivity. Curcumin can improve overall brain health in many ways - most notably, by maintaining mental acuity as we age. And several studies show that it helps cleanse and detoxify the liver by facilitating the removal of foreign substances from the body. "
Let's start with its effects in sports.
"When it comes to exercise, a certain degree of physiological inflammation after exertion is crucial for the development of muscle mass," explains Hill. But our modern world and diet are already redirecting us to inflammation, she continues, which not only disrupts the general well-being, but can trigger delayed muscle pain that stops recovery and reduces performance.
Meanwhile, CurcuWin, OmniActive Health Technologies' (Morristown, NJ) says that curcumin has been the subject of a double-blind, randomized, parallel-designed, placebo-controlled human clinical trial4, examining its effects on muscle performance and pain at doses of 250 mg and 1000 mg. mg administered over eight weeks relative to placebo. The results, says Ralf Jäger, MBA, FISSN, co-founder and board member of Increnovo LLC (Milvaukee) and lead author of the publication, show that consuming the ingredient before exercise "can improve training quality and help muscles recover faster."
Really beautiful article...