Scientists have just identified a new reason why some curry dishes,made with spices humans have used for thousands of years, might begood for you. New research at Oregon State University has discovered thatcurcumin, a compound found in the cooking spice turmeric, can causea modest but measurable increase in levels of a protein that'sknown to be important in the "innate" immune system, helping toprevent infection in humans and other animals. This cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, or CAMP, is part of whathelps our immune system fight off various bacteria, viruses orfungi even though they hadn't been encountered before. Prior to this, it was known that CAMP levels were increased by vitamin D . Discovery of an alternative mechanism to influence or raise CAMPlevels is of scientific interest and could open new researchavenues in nutrition and pharmacology, scientists said. Turmeric is a flavorful, orange-yellow spice and an importantingredient in many curries, commonly found in Indian, South Asianand Middle Eastern cuisine. It has also been used for 2,500 yearsas a medicinal compound in the Ayurvedic system of medicine inIndia - not to mention being part of some religious and weddingceremonies. In India, turmeric is treated with reverence. The newest findings were made by researchers in the Linus PaulingInstitute at OSU and published today in the Journal of NutritionalBiochemistry, in collaboration with scientists from the Universityof Copenhagen in Denmark. The work was supported by the NationalInstitutes of Health. "This research points to a new avenue for regulating CAMP geneexpression," said Adrian Gombart, an associate professor ofbiochemistry and biophysics in the Linus Pauling Institute. "It'sinteresting and somewhat surprising that curcumin can do that, andcould provide another tool to develop medical therapies." The impact of curcumin in this role is not nearly as potent as thatof vitamin D, Gombart said, but could nonetheless have physiologicvalue. Curcumin has also been studied for its anti-inflammatory andantioxidant properties. "Curcumin, as part of turmeric, is generally consumed in the dietat fairly low levels," Gombart said. "However, it's possible thatsustained consumption over time may be healthy and help protectagainst infection, especially in the stomach and intestinal tract." In this study, Chunxiao Guo, a graduate student, and Gombart lookedat the potential of both curcumin and omega-3 fatty acids toincrease expression of the CAMP gene. They found no particularvalue with the omega-3 fatty acids for this purpose, but curcumindid have a clear effect. It caused levels of CAMP to almost triple. There has been intense scientific interest in the vitamin Dreceptor in recent years because of potential therapeutic benefitsin treating infection, cancer , psoriasis and other diseases, the researchers noted in their report. Analternative way to elicit a related biological response could besignificant and merits additional research, they said. The CAMP peptide is the only known antimicrobial peptide of itstype in humans, researchers said. It appears to have the ability tokill a broad range of bacteria, including those that cause tuberculosis and protect against the development of sepsis. Additional References Citations. I am an expert from windowcleaningplatform.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Window Cleaning Platform Manufacturer , China Suspended Working Platform, High Rise Maintenance Platform,and more.
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