Virtual Medical Centre

Curcumin may be viable supplement to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Now, researchers at the Steele Children's Research Center at the University of Arizona have found that curcumin (the biologically active ingredient in turmeric) may be a viable supplement to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Basically, they have shown that curcumin decreases the severe inflammation and resultant intestinal damage caused by IBD.

IBD refers to two inflammatory diseases: Crohn's disease, which affects the entire gastrointestinal tract, and ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon. Both cause severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue and weight loss. As many as one in 500 individuals will be diagnosed with IBD each year, and IBD typically is diagnosed in children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 19. Approximately 1 million individuals in the United States suffer from IBD.

For several years, Steele Children's Research Center researchers have been investigating how curcumin aids in treating IBD. Recently, Steele Center principal investigator Pawel Kiela, DVM, PhD, research associate professor, and co-investigator Fayez K. Ghishan, MD, Steele Center director and professor, and their team made some new discoveries regarding how curcumin may be used as a supplemental treatment for IBD.  Drs Kiela and Ghishan are faculty members at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Neutrophils (the most common type of white blood cells) play a vital role in the immune system, for they are the first immune cells to arrive at the site of inflammation and play a key role in recognising and destroying the pathogens that cause inflammation and infection. "However, for the patient suffering with IBD, the immune system is both friend and foe," says Dr Kiela. "Under normal circumstances, neutrophils are indispensible for fighting infection and resolving the inflammation. But with IBD, there is an exaggerated and prolonged influx of neutrophils into the inflamed tissue. Paradoxically, then, the neutrophils end up damaging the lining of the intestines, making the inflammation even worse. In the end, this innate response designed to aid in the fighting of pathogens ends up causing more harm than good."