Posted by Larry Hoover on November 28, 2002, at 7:58:11
In reply to Re: Curcumin Question » Larry Hoover, posted by IsoM on November 28, 2002, at 0:12:49
> I was aware that it contained curcumin & it was responsible for its anit-inflammatory properties but wasn't aware it acted as a COX-2 inhibitor. Interesting.
Well, last night, after being reminded of this activity (I'm not always mindful of my own advice), I took a teaspoon of turmeric in water. I have a bum knee, and it always hurts. Within 20 minutes, all pain was gone. Now, 10 hours later, all pain is still gone. I don't get that longevity of effect from anything else I've ever taken.
There is one caution I'd like to make. COX-2 has another name: prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase. You can undo some of the good effects of e.g. fish oil and evening primrose by blocking prostaglandin synthesis.
> So can you tell me whether curcumin is heat sensitive then? And if so, at what temperature & for how long before it's deactivated? I'll do some checking around myself.That conclusion is my unscientific (subject pool n=1, me) study of the matter. *I* don't get the same effect from cooked turmeric as I get from raw. I've also never heard of anyone saying to eat curry for arthritis pain, have you? <shrug>
I looked hard for any evidence of heat deactivation, and couldn't find any. It could be that curcumin reacts to substances in food. It has a keto-enol functional group.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:129624
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021127/msgs/129707.html