Research Paper on Turmeric

Introduction

From the ancient times, medicinal plants have been a fundamental source of new drugs crucial in fighting against diseases. Turmeric is an example of such a plant highly regarded as a cure-all herbal medicine with many pharmacological activities. It is distributed throughout the subtropical and tropical parts of the world especially India and China. The plants grow to almost one-meter-high despite the stem being short. Turmeric is a spice in most countries in the world and used as a traditional medicine in Pakistan and Bangladesh because of its medicinal features. Turmeric is an important plant because its powder is potent against a range of infections such as anorexia, sinusitis, inflammation, diabetic wounds, and gastrointestinal diseases (Nasri, Sahinfard, Rafieian, Rafieian, Shirzad, & Rafieian-Kopaei, 2014). Furthermore, turmeric has been authenticated as antimicrobial, anticoagulant, anti-venom, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic.

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History of Turmeric

Turmeric comes with several names such as the golden spice and the spice of life. It has been used in India as a medicinal plant for many years, and the people in this region hold this plant sacred. It is well associated with the sociocultural life of the people in the Indian subcontinent. Ravindran, Babu & Sivaraman (2007) note that the medicinal and socioreligious uses of turmeric spans over 6000 years which comes from dried rhizomes of a sterile triploid and gives a bright yellow color and a distinct aroma to food, and is a curry powder ingredient. Apart from these, it is also used as a preservative for food and cosmetically as a face cream. In the ancient times, it was used in dying clothes, but in the modern society, it is a good coloring material in yogurt, ice cream, potato flakes, cereal products, and cheese. Because of its distinctiveness in color, turmeric has an essential place in the Buddhist and Hindu culture because where it was cultivated as a dye.

The Asian folklore medicine considers turmeric to have medicinal properties hence used in the treatment of conditions and ailments that attack human beings. The most potent compound medically in turmeric is curcumin which was recognized as therapeutically effective in 1748, but was tested in humans in 1937 by Albert Oppenheimer, who was a physician. He found that an intravenous injection of curcumin resulted in the rapid emptying of the gallbladder and this marked the start of this compound in the treatment of various digestive disorders. Experts in herbal medicine have considered turmeric as one of the highest present of mother nature as it has different healing properties.

It is assumed to be native to Southeast Asia, where many related species grow in the wild, though turmeric does not grow in the wild. It is cultivated extensively in India, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, China, and Bangladesh. It is grown in small scale in Africa, Pacific Ocean Islands, and America. Jefferson (2015) notes that turmeric was introduced to Europe in the 13th century by Arab traders, but was not put into use until the 20th century when it was used as a therapeutic agent and spice in food. It reached the coast of China in AD 700 and arrived in East Africa and West Africa centuries later. Despite the dispute in the original home of turmeric, the available leads point to southern and western India where it has been used for approximately 500 years now (Nair, 2013).

Indian is the sole exporter, consumer, and producer of turmeric annually. The yearly production rates in India has been on the rise because of the demand within and outside India. The turmeric produced in India is seen as of best quality in the world market because it has a high content of curcumin thus demand from the world is big. Ravindran, Babu & Sivaraman (2007) note that India exports turmeric to more than 100 countries in the world with the primary importers being the United States, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Iran, United Kingdom, and Japan which has exasperated the annual rise in demand for turmeric in the world.

Health Benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric has various chemical compounds that are responsible for fighting illnesses in the body and are attributed to curcumin, a pigment that gives turmeric its color. Curcumin is highly therapeutic and is used as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory in drugs available in the market. The health benefits include use in treating cancer, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, and neurodegenerative disorders.

Anti-Oxidation and Anti-Inflammation

Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent since it plays a role in neutralizing free radicals that would move in the body and damage DNA and healthy cells. These oxidants are accountable for diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer. These ailments are on the rise in the world, but turmeric provides a safe, potent as well as anti-inflammatory action against these conditions. Turmeric is responsible for the regulation of specific inflammatory factors such as compounds and enzymes that avert the development of these conditions (Hewlings & Kalman, 2017). It affordable and has no side effects like the formation of ulcers thus a perfect drug. The free radicals in the body are also known to cause painful inflammation in the joints which may graduate to complete joint deformation. Turmeric acts on these free radicals hence is helpful in dealing with this condition. Turmeric is also more powerful than phenylbutazone which is used to treat arthritis. This is because it shortens the duration of joints stiffness mainly in the morning, lessens the joint swelling intensity, and lengthens the walking time.

Turmeric is also a potent drug in treating inflammation of the bowel, thought this treatment is still in clinical trials. The prospects of this treatment are bright because the experiments on rats indicate that they became immune to inflammatory agents that are responsible for triggering colitis. Furthermore, the medication on trial did not affect the internal flow of the rats and lost less weight. This points out that curcumin can prevent inflammatory diseases and averted agents of cellular inflammation in the body. Human trials have not been carried out on this technique but has been used in South-east Asia for many years.

Turmeric and Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are also averted through the use of turmeric because it has an effect that lowers the concentration levels of cholesterol in the body. Curcumin acts as a massaging molecule that communicates to the liver cells genes to enhance messenger protein production. These messenger proteins are tasked with controlling the cholesterol receptors. With the assistance of these receptors, liver cells can clear cholesterol from the body. Furthermore, turmeric also creates an effect whereby the uptake of cholesterol in the intestines is reduced and an elevated rate of conversion of cholesterol to bile acids in the liver is realized.

Also, curcumin acts as a cardioprotective agent in the heart by suppressing the development plaque in the arteries which leads to their narrowing. Turmeric does this by blocking of the dysfunction of epithelial which is induced by homocysteine, reducing the formation of fatty streak in the aorta, decreasing thrombosis, suppressing the growth of smooth muscles cells, and hindering the oxidation of lipoprotein. The provision of curcuminoids lowers the lipids as well as the action of anti-inflammatory produced by curcumin which helps in the prevention of irregular heartbeat. Singletary (2010) observe that clinical trials evidence show that curcumin is potential in the prevention of stroke and leads to decreased inflammation of the vascular and sudden constriction of blood vessels in the brain especially after a hemorrhagic stroke. These benefits of curcumin are as a result of its varied anti-inflammatory and antioxidant abilities.

Lastly, curcumin protects the heart from cardiac injury because it can avert inflammation. When curcumin is administered, the heart is protected from reperfusion and cardiac ischemia. This is possible through the actions of curcumin which safeguard the muscular tissue of the heart from ischemic attack through the suppression of the pathways that generate the reactive oxygen species and the peroxidation of the lipids (Jovicic, Jozinovic, Grcevic, Spaseska Aleksovska & Subaric, 2017). Additionally, curcumin is potent in the relaxation of the blood vessels to lower pressure. This is crucial in lessening the risk of heart attack during treatment with steroids and the damage to tissues during an attack.

Treatment of Cancer

Turmeric helps in the prevention of cancer, despite the fact that research is still in advanced stages and the current tests are only limited to rodents and lab. The preliminary tests have shown that turmeric is useful in the prevention of DNA mutations. Turmeric suppresses the free radicals responsible for DNA mutation that causes the abnormalities depicted by the cell during the cell replication process. These abnormalities are the major contributors of cancerous cells in the body. Through the suppression of the free radicals, turmeric attains the protection against cancerous cells.

Epidemiological studies have related turmeric use to the lower rates of colon, breast and prostate cancer because curcumin produces notable relieve symptoms such as pain, lesion size, and itching (Gupta, Patchva, & Aggarwal, 2013). Lab experiments indicate that curcumin can inhibit tumor formation through the interference of numerous pathways that aids in the growth and spread of cancer-causing cells in any place in the body that already has cancer cells (Davidson, 2013). Also, curcumin acts against factors of transcription that plays a role in the regulation of genes that exasperate the growth of cancerous cells. By suppressing the initiation of a chain reaction that leads to the promotion of cancerous cell growth, curcumin can prevent cancer. In the body, there is a regulatory molecule that allows the genes to begin the production of inflammatory molecules that enhances the multiplication of cancer cells. Curcumin averts this regulatory molecule, which saves the body from troubles due to these inflammatory molecules.

Lastly, when turmeric and onions are combined, they are helpful in the fight against colon cancer. The compounds curcumin in turmeric and quercetin in onions are anti-oxidants that can reduce the precancerous abnormalities in the human intestinal tracks. Societies that consume large amounts of food rich in turmeric have lower cases of problems of the intestine such as cancer of the colon. Similarly, quercetin which is chiefly present in green tea and onions can subdue the growth of cancer cells in human beings (Davidson, 2013).

Other Beneficial Uses of Turmeric

Analgesic Action

Turmeric is useful in deeply rooted pains and painful, traumatic conditions. Its powdered rhizome is effective in sprain treatment and inflammation. When mixed with lime water and saltpeter, it is applied hot to a sprain thus effective in relieving pain.

Skin Care

Turmeric causes an improved complexion and cure skin diseases and itching. Ravindran & Babu (2007) note that before the sale of synthetic and herbal products in the market, women depended on turmeric to smear their skins with a mixture of sandal paste and turmeric to achieve a golden glow in their skins as well as improving their complexion because turmeric helps in removing hairs. Also, turmeric is also considered an effective medication for healing wounds through the application of turmeric powder. This is because turmeric decreases the levels of nitric oxide synthetase thus heals acute and chronic wounds. Small and chicken pox are also treated using turmeric. A thin paste or coating of turmeric powder i...