Ulcerative colitis (UC), an idiopathic inflammatory disorder in the colon, has become a clinical challenge, owing to the increasing incidence and poor prognosis. The conventional treatments for UC including aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants, induce remission in only half of patients. Meanwhile, the treatments often come with serious side effects which can be life-threatening.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family which has been used to treat biliary disorders, anorexia, cough, rheumatism, cancer, sinusitis, hepatic disorders, hyperglycemia, obesity, and diabetes in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Suggested mechanisms of action include the modulation of signal transduction cascades and effects on gene expression, however they remain to be elucidated.
Curcumin is a principal ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine, Curcuma Longa, which possesses a variety of pharmacological activities including pain relief. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that curcumin has antinociceptive effects for inflammatory and neuropathic pain. This study examined the effects of curcumin in a rat model of postoperative pain. A surgical incision on the right hind paw induced a sustained mechanical hyperalgesia that lasted for 5 days. Acute curcumin treatment (10-40 mg/kg, p.o) significantly and dose dependently reversed mechanical hyperalgesia.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has unique therapeutic effects for complex chronic diseases. However, for the lack of an effective systematic approach, the research progress on the effective substances and pharmacological mechanism of action has been very slow. In this paper, by incorporating network biology, bioinformatics and chemoinformatics methods, an integrated approach was proposed to systematically investigate and explain the pharmacological mechanism of action and effective substances of TCM.
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: eCAM
Turmeric (Curcuma longa), a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, has been used for the treatment of diabetes in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. The active component of turmeric, curcumin, has caught attention as a potential treatment for diabetes and its complications primarily because it is a relatively safe and inexpensive drug that reduces glycemia and hyperlipidemia in rodent models of diabetes.
Curcumin is a polyphenolic nonflavonoid compound extracted from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa), a plant commonly used in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine to treat rheumatism, cough, inflammation and wounds. Curcumin putative targets, known based on studies of diverse central nervous system disorders other than bipolar disorders (BD) include several proteins currently implicated in the pathophysiology of BD.
Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects approximately 130-170 million people worldwide, no vaccines are available. HCV is an important cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, leading to the need for liver transplantation. In this study, curcumin, a constituent used in traditional Chinese medicine, has been evaluated for its anti-HCV activity and mechanism, using a human hepatoma cell line containing the HCV genotype 1b subgenomic replicon.
Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao = Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine
To elucidate the connection between the origin of certain cancers and stem cells, cancer stem cells, the stem cell niche and the tumor microenvironment, and to examine the ability of traditional Chinese herbal medicines and isolates in treating these types of cancers, the existing literature was examined and eight studies regarding Chinese herbal medicines and the prevention of cancer recurrence were critically analyzed and evaluated. Tumor stem cells may be the final target of traditional Chinese medicine.
Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound abundant in the rhizome of the perennial herb turmeric, Curcuma longa. It is commonly used as a dietary spice and coloring agent in cooking, and is used anecdotally as an herb in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine. It has been reported that curcumin has the potential to protect against cardiac inflammation through suppression of GATA-4 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB); however, no study to date has addressed the effect of curcumin on experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) in rats.
Extensive research within the last two decades has revealed that most chronic illnesses, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, are mediated through chronic inflammation. Thus, suppressing chronic inflammation has the potential to delay, prevent, and even treat various chronic diseases, including cancer.
