Can curcumin slow liver disease?

“Curry favour for your liver,” is the headline in The Mirror. The newspaper said that mice fed curcumin (the chemical in turmeric that gives curry a yellow colour) had less liver damage over time than those on a normal diet. The researchers in this animal study investigated how an extract of the spice protected mice that had been bred to have inflammation in their bile ducts from liver damage. The results suggest that liver damage, jaundice and scarring were all reduced by the curcumin and that the underlying cellular pathways affected might, in time, become promising targets for new drug development. There is no suggestion from this study that eating turmeric will have the same effect or be a useful treatment for humans.

for further: www.nhs.uk/news/2010/03March/Pages/Can-curcumin-slow-liver-disease.aspx