Curcumin 'could slow liver disease'

Kayi korma curry Photo: YUKI SUGIURA

The substance - which gives the curry spice turmeric its bright yellow color - has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine - practiced on the Indian subcontinent - to treat a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders.

Previous studies also suggested it has anti-inflammatory properties and works as an antioxidant.


The latest study, published in the journal Gut, looked at damage to the liver caused by progressive inflammatory illnesses, including primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis.

These conditions can be triggered by genetic faults or autoimmune disease, causing the liver's bile ducts to become inflamed, scarred and blocked.

The damage to the tissues can be irreversible and cause progression to liver cirrhosis, which can be fatal.

Experts from Austria and the US studied tissue and blood samples taken from mice with chronic liver inflammation.

The samples were looked at before and after adding curcumin to their diet for a period of four or eight weeks.

Being fed curcumin led to fewer blockages of the bile duct and less damage to cells in the liver and scarring, the research found. No such effects were seen in mice fed a normal diet.

There were no extra benefits if the mice were fed curcumin for eight weeks rather than four.

A separate study, by Manchester and Newcastle researchers, also published in Gut, related to research on more than 4,600 people, assessing their risk of primary biliary cirrhosis.

Smoking increased the risk by 63% while hair dye increased the risk by 37%, the experts found.

Previous bouts of urinary infection, psoriasis and shingles also increased the risk as did autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid and coeliac diseases.

People in the study were not asked how often they dyed their hair and it is unclear which part of the hair dye may be responsible for the effect, the experts said.

However, previous studies have noted a link between cirrhosis and a chemical found in cosmetics called octynoic acid, which is used in hair dye and nail polish.