Spice Turmeric Could Fight Alzheimer’s

(Vanderbilt University) Curcumin, a natural product found in the spice turmeric, has been used by many Asian cultures for centuries, and a study indicates a close chemical analog of curcumin has properties that may make it useful as a treatment for the brain disease.

“Curcumin has demonstrated ability to enter the brain, bind and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in Alzheimer’s with reduced toxicity,” said Wellington Pham, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt and senior author of the study, published recently in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.