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Health benefits and side effects of Turmeric

 

Turmeric is a spice and has been used as a medicine for centuries. It is a major source of polyphenol curcumin that aids in the management of oxidative and inflammatory conditions, metabolic syndrome arthritis anxiety, and hyperlipidemia. Curcuma is well known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Major active ingredients of turmeric include three curcuminoids: curcumin, the primary constituent responsible for yellow color of turmeric, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. In addition, volatile oils (tumerone, atlantone and zingiberene) also have pharmacological activity. Turmeric also helps in the management of exercise-induced inflammation and muscle soreness.

Although, turmeric has been used as a medicine for centuries but modern research showed that curcumin, the main constituent in turmeric by itself does not lead to the associated health benefits due to its poor bioavailability because of poor absorption, rapid metabolism and also rapid elimination. However, when combined with black pepper, the bioavailability of curcumin increased drastically and provided multiple health benefits because black pepper is a rich source of a component known as piperine which acts as a bioavailability enhancer.

People from different nations use turmeric in different forms. Indians use turmeric in curries; Japanese serve it in tea; in Thailand it is used in cosmetics; Chinese use it as a colorant, Korean serve in drinks; in Malaysia, it is used as an antiseptic; and in United States, it is used in mustard sauce, cheese, butter and chips as a preservative and a coloring agent.

According to the joint United Nations and World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives and European Food Safety Authority, the allowable daily intake value of curcumin is 0-3 mg/kg body weight.

Side effects of Turmeric

1.   When taken daily or in high amount it causes diarrhea, headache, rash and yellow stool.

2.   High amount intake of turmeric may increase alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase contents in serum.

3.   Direct curcumin exposure to skin can cause skin allergy.

4.   Higher curcumin doses may increase ROS cell levels and playing an important role in carcinogenesis.

5.   It has been reported that curcumin may alter fertility by inhibiting human sperm motility and has a potential application as a novel intravaginal contraceptive.

References

  1. Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS. Curcumin: A review of its effects on human health. Foods. 2017; 6(10): 92.
  2. Sharifi-Red J, Rayees YE, Rizk AA, et al. Turmeric and its major compound Curcumin on Health: Bioactive effects and safety profiles for food, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and medicinal applications Front Pharmacol. 2020;15(11): 0102021

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