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Last Updated: Oct 6, 2008 - 12:00:27 PM |
MONDAY FEB 25, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Curcumin, a naturally occurring yellow pigment in turmeric, may protect against heart failure, according to a study by researchers from at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health.
The study showed mice with enlarged hearts or hypertrophy given the pigment restored their heart functions and reduced scare formation.
The results were published in the February edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Turmeric has been linked to lower incidence of cancer in India where the spice is commonly used in Indian cuisine and as a medicine. Curcumin, the pigment of the spice also has showed potential benefits for reducing cholesterol, improving cardiovascular health and fighting cancer.
But Peter Liu, lead author of the study, and colleagues suggested that instead of taking curcumin routinely, people would be better off lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, exercising and eating healthy.
Also they said the more does not mean the better when it comes to intake of curcumin.
In the study, Liu and colleagues found curcumin acted on p300-histone acetyltransferase or HAT, which modifies chromatin and associated transcription factors and promotes activation of genes.
Another study led by Japanese scientists Tatsuya Morimoto and colleagues tested curcumin in rats with heart failure and found the pigment prevented increase in heart muscle wall thickness after surgically induced myocardial infarction.
"We believe that the use of curcumin, which targets nuclear signaling pathways in cardiomyocytes, will provide a novel therapeutic strategy against heart failure," wrote Morimoto and colleagues from the National Hospital Organization in Kyoto.
"Future application of this nontoxic dietary natural compound as a therapeutic agent for heart failure in humans would be particularly interesting."
The Japanese study was published in the same journal.
Heart failure affects an estimated 5 million people in the United and kills about 300,000 deaths each year. Another 550,000 people are newly diagnosed with heart failure each year and the number is growing, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
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