The Turmeric "mystery"-Is it really as iconic as it is made out to be?

It was only recently this Blogger put up a piece regarding the role played by black pepper in enhancing the health protective properties associated with phytochemicals contained in the popular Asian condiment turmeric. It is a fact that curcumin, one of the more active constituents of turmeric, has significant anti-inflammatory properties, preventing many diseases that afflict mankind and Asians who consume curry powder formulations containing turmeric and black pepper are invariably found to be healthier, in spite of wide spread poverty all around. It was also realized that curcumin absorption across the intestine is much more efficient when turmeric is part of a preparation containing high fat levels. Now comes a new report indicating that curcumin can be formulated to be a therapeutic product or well being product through the technique of nano emulsification. Here is a gist of this report which appears to have significant implications for many population not consuming turmeric regularly in their daily diet. 

"A modified formulation of curcumin, a naturally occurring compound found in turmeric, releases its anti-inflammatory goodness throughout the body, the findings showed. Although known for promoting health by lowering inflammation, currently available curcumin supplements are not absorbed well by the body. Most curcumin in food or supplements stays in the gastrointestinal tract, and any portion that is absorbed is metabolised quickly. "This study suggests that we have identified a better and more effective way to deliver curcumin and know what diseases to use it for so that we can take advantage of its anti-inflammatory power," said lead author of the study Nicholas Young from Ohio State University. Curcumin powder mixed with castor oil and polyethylene glycol in a process called nano-emulsion, has the best potential against macrophage-associated inflammation, the researchers found in a mice study."

The fact that turmeric itself was used in the nano emulsion formulation is significant by itself because most products in the market to day are based on extracted curcumin. However there seems to be large wastage of curcumin in the gastrointestinal tract as it is not absorbed efficiently due to its poor solubility in aqueous phase. Though the above study is based on rat experiments, the authors who pioneered the work feel that same results would hold good in human beings also. It is a question of time before further proof of this hypothesis will emerge as it has excited many scientists across the world. To think of a pill containing low doses of turmeric or curcumin for every day use to preempt many diseases is really exciting. The possibility that higher doses can be prepared in deliverable format to cure certain diseases is also good news for millions who are suffering from such dIseases
V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

Spicing up the Spice!-Enhancing the bioavailability of phytochemicals

The so called well being industry which rides on a multi billion dollar market often confuses its own well being as that of the consume it is supposed to serve! The players who dominate this sector seem to be thriving on non-transparent, vague and some times misleading claims about the benefits consumer can derive by taking their products. The products being peddled around by them. most commonly referred to as "dietary supplements" have rarely any scientific data, proved by clinical trials with human subjects and most evidence offered is based on literature information or limited rat studies of doubtful value. The medical community, at least some members of this group who have some conscience, agree that no normally healthy person consuming a balanced diet requires any supplements and there fore these are specialty products, useful to various people with one or the other health problem. What is more intriguing is the unabashed marketing of many plant materials containing biologically significant phytochemicals with claims that cannot be easily substantiated. Here is a typical example of a phytochemical extracted from turmeric which was being touted as an antidote for every ailment experienced by man, though turmeric, per se, is a traditional alternate medicinal option known since centuries to get relief from some health problems. 

"Historians from all around the world have produced evidence to show that apparently all primitive peoples used herbs-often in a sophisticated way. "Quinine from Cinchona bark was used to treat the symptoms of malaria long before the disease was identified, and the raw ingredients of a common aspirin tablet have been a popular painkiller for far longer than we have had access to tablet-making machinery. Indeed, today many pharmacological classes of drugs include a natural product prototype that we originally discovered through the study of traditional cures and folk knowledge of indigenous people." There's a plant in South Asia called Adhatoda from adu meaning "goat," and thoda meaning "not touch" because it's so bitter even the goats won't eat it. However, it has compounds that help open one's airways and as such, Adhatoda tea has been used traditionally to treat asthma, where the leaves are steeped with black peppercorns. Leaves steeped with black peppercorns? That sounds gross to me—why would they do that? Because they're smart. Back in 1928, scientists discovered what the people evidently already knew, that adding pepper increased the anti-asthmatic properties of the leaves. Black pepper alone didn't work: it was the combination. And now we know why. Just like approximately 5% of the spice turmeric is composed of an active compound called curcumin, about 5% of black pepper by weight is comprised of this compound called piperine. Curcumin is responsible for the yellow color of turmeric and piperine for the pungent flavor of pepper. Piperine is a potent inhibitor of drug metabolism. One of the ways our liver gets rid of foreign substances is making them water soluble so they can be more easily excreted. But this black pepper molecule inhibits that process. And it doesn't take much. If people are given a bunch of turmeric curcumin, within an hour there's a little bump in the level in their blood stream. We don't see a large increase because our liver is actively trying to get rid of it. But what if the process is suppressed by taking just a quarter teaspoon's worth of black pepper? Then you see curcumin levels skyrocket. The same amount of curcumin consumed, but the bioavailability shoots up 2000%. Even just a little pinch of pepper—1/20th of a teaspoon—can significantly boost levels. And guess what a common ingredient in curry powder is besides turmeric? Black pepper. Another way to boost the absorption of curcumin is to consume it in the whole food, turmeric root (fresh or dried as a powder) because natural oils found in turmeric root and turmeric powder can enhance the bioavailability of curcumin seven to eight fold. When eaten with fat, curcumin can be directly absorbed into the bloodstream through the lymphatic system thereby in part bypassing the liver. How is it prepared in India? With fat and black pepper. Amazing how they could figure that out without double blind trials. (Though maybe it just tastes good, and it's merely coincidence?) Their traditional knowledge certainly failed them with ghee, however, which is practically pure butter fat, which may explain their relatively high rates of heart disease despite all their turmeric".

This case is not highlighted for any false claim but to show how difficult it is to prove the beneficial impact of a traditional plant substance. The type of study illustrated above brings out when turmeric can be effective and under what conditions. Just swallowing a capsule containing curcumin cannot ensure that the consumer will get the benefit attributed to whole turmeric. It is conveniently ignored that turmeric contains a few other biologically active organic molecules like turmerone having other benefits. The "revelation" that turmeric effect is several fold higher when consumed in combination with black pepper is indeed science based with biological logic. Some how the well being industry does not bother about such truths before promoting their formulated products. The rational explanation that turmeric efficacy, after it is mixed with oils which are absorbed through the thoraicic route is convincing and the complimentary effect of piperine in preventing curcumin destruction in the liver is plausible. This study has proved one thing whether any one likes it or not, that our traditional food habits in India have a scientific root whether accidental or coincidental. This is where Indian research institutions must focus more to unravel the strength of our traditional foods in stead of wasting their time on western oriented foods.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE BLACK PEPPER FIASCO-ADULTRATORS BEING PROTECTED?

What a country where right hand does not know what its left hand is doing! That is India which is known universally as a country delighted with its indecisive bureaucracy and never ending redtapism! What else one can make out of the recent pepper export fiasco which locked up almost Rs 300 crore worth of black pepper for almost 6 months without doing any thing to either clear the consignment or reject it. The merry go around, passing the buck for this shameful episode continues while the country is burdened by heavy indebtedness vis-a-vis foreign exchange reserves! Here is a gist of the story as narrated by the helpless exporters whom even the government of India is unwilling to help! 

"NCDEX and a bunch of pepper traders from Madhya Pradesh are involved in probably the biggest-ever dispute in the the former's decade-long history over the poor quality of pepper delivered. In its letter to Prabhakar, KVA highlighted the five-month delay in testing black pepper sealed at NCDEX-authorised warehouses for traces of mineral oil. The net worth of the 6,800 tonne of pepper locked up at the warehouse at Rs 300 crore. When KVA filed a petition before the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking a direction to the exchange to revoke an order directing the traders to take the delivery of pepper and deliver fresh pepper at current market prices. The association wants either wholesale pepper contracts amounting to Rs 300 crore scrapped or a new consignment of the commodity fit for human consumption delivered. After complaints from KVA, Kerala's food safety authority sealed the consignments of pepper mixed with mineral oil and delivered to the warehouse. The authority appointed the Spices Board of India to conduct the test on the entire stock rather than taking samples. P S S Thampi, chairman, Spices Board of India, said, "We have tested 1,000 tonne of pepper and already submitted our report to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and now it is up to them to take further action." When quizzed, K V Thomas, minister of state (independent charge) for consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said, "Yes, I received a letter from KVA, but there is nothing I can do about it, and therefore the stocks of pepper have been sent to the Spices Board India, and they will do the needful."

The export trade is not entirely innocent if its past history is to be checked, with substandard and dubious quality commodities being exported bringing bad name to the country. But all traders cannot be blamed or punished for such fraudulent practices. In the present case detection of mineral oil, some traders use to improve the appearance of pepper corns, takes hardly a few minutes and why huge stocks are being sealed for months together is a serious matter. Government must book the guilty for dereliction of duty and compensate the exporters for the losses, if any incurred by them. With the Spices Board well equipped to carry out almost all tests required to clear export consignments, why such delays occur is a matter of serious concern and if necessary steps are not taken to prevent recurrence of such incidences, India may have to yield its preeminent position in spices exports to neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia! 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com