Curcumin & Crohn's Disease

Curcumin comes from the Curcuma longa plant. Tumeric is the spice derived from curcumin. In India, it has had a use as a medicine for centuries. Research suggests it has strong anti-inflammatory effects. Since Crohn's disease is an inflammatory condition, curcumin may provide some benefit.

Bioavailability

• Clinical trials have shown that curcumin, or turmeric, taken by mouth results in a fairly low concentration in the body. This may limit the effectiveness of popular formulations.

Anti-inflammatory Action

• Some research has shown that in refractory cases of Crohn's disease supplementary curcumin may optimize standard treatments, although the evidence is still preliminary and more studies are needed.

Specific Actions

• One study found curcumin can suppress the signal from mutations in an intracellular pattern recognition receptor that initiates inflammation and is involved in disorders such as Crohn's disease.

Additional Benefits

• Curcumin has been found to inhibit cell division in cancers. Since Crohn's disease patients have an increased risk of developing colon cancer, some additional benefit may exist to supplementing with curcumin as a preventive step.

Warning

• Testing by consumerlab.com found some turmeric (curcumin) supplements were contaminated with lead and others lacked curcumin.

Misconceptions

• Contrary to what some may believe, herbal or other supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration