Curcumin is a yellow pigment obtained from roots of Curcuma longa commonly used as a spice and food colouring. These researchers looked at whether curcumin affected the fats that lead to atherosclerosis. They evaluated the effect of an alcohol-water extract obtained from rhizomes of C. longa on these fats in rabbits. To cause atherosclerosis the 18 study rabbits were fed a diet of 95.7% standard chow, 3% lard and 1. 3% cholesterol for 7 weeks. The rabbits were divided into three groups, two treatment groups and a control group. The two treatments were given turmeric extract by mouth, either 1.66 or 3.2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The level of several fats and related chemicals and enzymes in the plasma, the liquid part of the blood, was measured. These included low density lipoprotein (LDL) lipid structure, alpha-tocopherol, retinol, LDL thiobarbiturate reactive substances, and LDL lipid hydroperoxides. The concentration of the thiobarbiturate reactive substances is an index of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress. They also examined the wounds atherosclerotic in the large blood vessel, the aorta. Only the low dose of the extract decreases the peroxidation of LDL. Both treatment groups had lower levels of total plasma cholesterol than the control group. The rabbits treated with the lower dose had lower levels of cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides in LDL than the animals treated with the higher dose. They concluded that this extract could be useful in treating diseases of the heart and blood vessels caused by atherosclerosis
Oral administration of a turmeric extract inhibits…[Atherosclerosis. 1999]