In war all means are good. This expression applies for medicine, when for the sake of victory over cancer scientists are willing to grasp any straw that can lead to success. But this time researchers have made an unexpected discovery. It turned out that the spice turmeric, which many of us often use while creating culinary masterpieces is an effective way of dealing with the most aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy cancer cells.
This famous spice is made from the roots of three species of monocotyledonous herbaceous plants of the genus Curcuma. Use it in cooking, confectionery and even in the production of alcoholic beverages. Most turmeric is in love with the people of India (without her it would be impossible to cook a curry) and some countries in Asia. The healing properties of turmeric were known in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. Healers believed that it cleanses the body and strengthens the immune system. With the development of science, scientists came to the conclusion that turmeric is a natural antibiotic. Later science has proven the fact that the seasoning is really an immunomodulator. But no one expected that turmeric is effective in the fight against cancer.
Some forms of cancer are almost impossible to therapy, and doctors are powerless to fight them. A brain tumor extremely difficult to treat, especially in children. Glioblastoma, for example, cause infant death from cancer in 15% of cases. Today medicine does not have the means to stop or prevent the development of these tumors without causing serious damage to the brain. But recently, scientists have hope. In some plants, including meadowsweet and turmeric, have discovered a substance that can resist these types of cancers. The problem is that turmeric cannot be dissolved in water to deliver it to cancer cells.
The researchers finally came up with an effective way to solve the issue. They tied the molecule of curcumin with nanoparticles of cerium oxide, is able to penetrate the tumor cells. During laboratory tests, such particles introduced into the two cultures of cancer cells, one of which was extremely aggressive and resistant to any types of therapy, and the second consisted of less hazardous cells. In the course of the experiment revealed that nanoparticles with curcumin inhibited tumor growth and significantly accelerated the death of cancer cells. A few hours killed more than half of the tumor cells, which is extremely impressive. And most important – healthy cells has not undergone any changes. In the future, scientists plan to create new versions of the nanoparticles, as well as to conduct their clinical trials on animals and humans.
Turmeric will help scientists in the fight against cancer
Sergey Grey