Compound Found In Curry Could Hold The Key To Curing Cancer
Dec 06, 2013 20:25
You're going to love curry even more after reading this. Researchers in Austria say they're close to finding a potential cure for cancer, and it all involves delivering a
compound found in curry into these cancer cells.
The compound 'curcumin' comes from the turmeric plant, which is commonly used in daals and other curries. It's also what gives curry that distinctive bright yellow color. Curcumin also works as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Previous research has shown that when curcumin is absorbed by tumor cells, it stops the cell's growth cycle eventually killing the cell.
Now the real tricky part is getting these curcumin into the cancerous cells. The cells are unlikely to absorb the compound on their own since curcumin does not easily dissolve in water, so eating lots of curry is not the answer.
To solve this, the researchers came up CurcuEmulsomes, which involves packing the curcumin into tiny fat blobs called emulsomes (a solid core of fat surrounded by a lipid layer that cells absorb easily). As the outer emulsome dissolves, the curcumin will slowly and steadily be released into the cancer cells.
Read more over at the Journal of Nanobiotechnology
The compound 'curcumin' comes from the turmeric plant, which is commonly used in daals and other curries. It's also what gives curry that distinctive bright yellow color. Curcumin also works as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Previous research has shown that when curcumin is absorbed by tumor cells, it stops the cell's growth cycle eventually killing the cell.
Now the real tricky part is getting these curcumin into the cancerous cells. The cells are unlikely to absorb the compound on their own since curcumin does not easily dissolve in water, so eating lots of curry is not the answer.
To solve this, the researchers came up CurcuEmulsomes, which involves packing the curcumin into tiny fat blobs called emulsomes (a solid core of fat surrounded by a lipid layer that cells absorb easily). As the outer emulsome dissolves, the curcumin will slowly and steadily be released into the cancer cells.
Read more over at the Journal of Nanobiotechnology
