Curcumin is a component of the spice turmeric (Curcumin longa), a member of the ginger family.
Curcumin is one of three curcuminoids present in turmeric, the other two being desmethoxycurcumin and bis-desmethoxycurcumin. These curcuminoids give turmeric its yellow color. The rhizome or the root is processed to form turmeric which contains 2% to 4% curcumin.
Curcumin has been the subject of much interest and research over the last few decades due to its medicinal properties. Research has demonstrated that curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory agent that can reduce inflammation, a very high quality and powderful antioxidant and may even play a role in cancer treatment.
Curcumin has also bee shown to interfer with viral infectivity of enveloped viruses (such as HSV, Influenza and SARS). SARS- Cov2 is also an enveloped virus and scientific studies specifically on curcumins effect on stopping the virus has just begun the results from other enveloped virus studies show a lot of promise.
Curcumin works in several ways depending on the virus it is interacting with. It can act as an entry inhibitor, a particle production inhibitor, a protease inhibitor and a replication inhibitor, as well as inhibition in several other viral or cellular processes
Curcumin has had some promising results in reducing the transformation, proliferation and spread of some tumors and it achieves this through regulation of transcription factors, inflammatory cytokines, growth factors, protein kinases and other enzymes.
Curcumin prevents proliferation by interrupting the cell cycle and inducing programmed cell death. Furthermore, curcumin can inhibit the activation of carcinogens through suppression of certain cytochrome P450 isozymes.
In animal studies, curcumin has been shown to have protective effects in cancers of the blood, skin, mouth, lung, pancreas and intestinal tract.
Turmeric is the rhizome of the turmeric plant (the bit that grows underground). Curcumin is the yellow coloured compound found inside a turmeric rhizome.
The rhizome usually contains 2-4% curcumin so you will need to chew through a lot of turmeric root to get a functional dose of curcumin (a dose sufficient to do you some good)
The curcumin in the turmeric is doing the real work inside your body. It is an amazing compound that seems to have more fuctions the deeper you delve into how it works.
The main headline features and heath effects that turmeric or curcumin can do for you is:
> Anti-inflammatory effects (due to joints, obesity, other disease or cytokine reaction in the body)
> Anti-oxidant - curcumin has one of the highest levels of antioxidant that nature can product. A bluberry has approx 600,000ORAC units per 100g (very impressive) but curcumin is 1.5million ORAC units per 100g. Oxidative stress in the body due to disease, lifestyle, enviromental factors, diet and many other reasons can cause damage to our health and wellbeing. Antioxidant neutralise the damaging effects of these compaound and allow our bodies to fuction more cleanly.
> Anti viral (enveloped viruses) - curcumin is showing a lot of promise as a naturally occuring compound specifically against a group of viruses called enveloped viruses. Curcumin can act as an entry inhibitor, a particle production inhibitor, a protease inhibitor and a replication inhibitor, as well as in some other ways. This assists in preventing the virus taking hold of your system and gives your immune system a very good chance of fighting off the infection.
Mushroom beta glucan is primarily comprised of D-glucose polymers and is naturally extracted from an edible mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum or red reishi mushrooms, renowned throughout Asia and other parts of the world for their medicinal properties.
Mushroom beta glucan is an all-natural product that helps the body support immune health. Clinical studies have found Mushroom beta glucans immune priming capability provide year-round support by up-regulating or down-regulating primary immune response when needed.
Through a scientifically validated mechanism, Mushroom beta glucan balances the immune response by activating the macrophages, our body’s frontline of defense. In addition, the macrophages also “trigger” other components of the immune system including Granulocytes (Neutrophil, Eosinophils, and the Basophils), B-cells, T-cells, and Natural Killer (NK) cells to manage the other potential threats.