Curry Spice May Help Heal Wounds
Excerpt By Keith Mulvihill, Reuters Health

(Reuters Health) - Laboratory experiments conducted in Singapore suggest that curcumin--a compound found in the curry spice turmeric--may act as an antioxidant that could possibly promote wound healing.

Curcumin has been used for centuries in India and other Asian countries as a folk remedy for treating wounds and ulcers, explained Dr. Toan-Thang Phan of Singapore General Hospital in an interview with Reuters Health.

In the experiment, the team of researchers exposed laboratory-grown human skin cells to hydrogen peroxide, a potent oxidizing agent. In wounds, oxidation--a process in which damaging free radical particles are generated--can promote further damage to the surrounding tissue.

When curcumin was added to the skin culture it minimized the effects of hydrogen peroxide, according to the study which appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Trauma.

``The main finding in this study is that curcumin has a strong antioxidant effect against hydrogen peroxide on skin cells in culture,'' said Phan in an interview with Reuters Health.

``One of our major research projects and interests is plant-based medicines and phytochemicals for wound healing. The finding in this study could explain in part the therapeutic properties of curcumin for wound healing,'' he added.

``I think that curcumin can be good for both acute and chronic wounds,'' Phan told Reuters Health. ``But we need to demonstrate this scientifically.''

``Our study may provide more rationale and evidence for using curcumin,'' said Phan.

``The next step should be clinical study,'' he added, ``If it works and it is safe--curcumin could be a registered medicine--but we have a long way to go.'' SOURCE: The Journal of Trauma 2001;51:927-931.

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