Curcumin/Turmeric

[Guest guest]

We have been trying curcumin/turmeric products since Feb 2008. There

was a very exciting piece of research done last year which

demonstrated that curcumin rescued the impaired hippocampus of

chronically stressed rats. Since that time, I've been trying to

research as much as I can. We are on our 3rd product - this time

using turmeric and not curcumin.

In the study, the researchers found that 10-20 mg/kg would create

neurogenesis - exciting. The problem is that while curumin worked in

the study, in real life it has very low bioavailability. Turmeric

seems to work better, but if I'm doing my calculations corrercly,

(100 lbs.) would need at least 15 grams of turmeric daily to

create the neurogenesis. I measured out a vegetable capsule - almost

3/8 teaspoon. That would mean that would need 18 capsules of

turmeric daily. Whoa! The adult dose is about 1.5 to 3 grams daily.

Even though turmeric is generally recongized as safe, I think that

you could run into some serious problems with such a high dose. I

plan to keep using the turmeric because I feel that at the least, it

is a very good antioxidant, reduces lipid peroxidation, antiglyemic,

and also could help reduce amyloid plaque.

Another potential problem is that turmeric along with the GB could

increase the risk of bleeding. One more reason not to give high doses.

Curcumin/turmeric are not risky products for our children. The poor

bioavailability/dosage required are the problem.

I am starting to lose hope that curcumin/turmeric will be effective

agents for the purpose of neurogenesis at this time. Scientists are

working on ways to enhance the bioavailability of curcumin - looking

at nanotechnology. In the meantime, we have the possibility of prozac.

I would appreciate any other thoughts on this from others. Tina or

Theresa, feel free to chime in.

Marsha