Turmeric is being attributed health benefits like reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer.  Turmeric-based products are found on shop shelves and various coffee shops sell turmeric lattes.  Are these claims realistic? 

The beneficial effects are attributed to curcumin, the major component of turmeric.  The positive results observed in laboratory experiments can be attributed to the reactivity of curcumin’s molecular structure. 

Curcumin can bind several proteins, affecting their structure.  However, curcumin is also unstable and has a short lifetime in the blood.  It is, therefore, very difficult to reproduce lab results in humans and clinical trials might require very high doses, resulting in inconsistent data.

One of the main hurdles is curcumin’s low water solubility.  Therefore, scientists are synthesising soluble versions.  Some scientists suggest that a number of components in turmeric work synergistically with curcumin to produce a medicinal effect.  Indeed, curcumin makes up only five per cent of turmeric.  This, however, can be very challenging to test.  Others propose that turmeric acts as food for our intestinal microbiota.  An effective, working microbiome produces chemicals like dopamine and serotonin that improve health.

Scientific results do not yet convince that turmeric is the wonder drug some adverts maintain.  Nevertheless, it is not causing problems either.  Studies continue, in the hope of finding something in turmeric that may be useful.

References:
Exatance, A. Chemistry World, 2019, vol. 16, p. 50.
Jheeta, S., Smith, D. Medical Hypotheses, 2019, vol. 125, p. 70.