June 16/London/Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- New research, "Curcumin as a Therapeutic Agent: The Evidence from in Vitro, Animal and Human Studies," is the subject of a report. "Curcumin is the active ingredient of turmeric. It is widely used as a kitchen spice and food colorant throughout India, Asia and the Western world," researchers in London, the U.K., report.

"Curcumin is a major constituent of curry powder, to which it imparts its characteristic yellow color. For over 4,000 years, curcumin has been used in traditional Asian and African medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. There is a strong current public interest in naturally occurring plant-based remedies and dietary factors related to health and disease. Curcumin is non-toxic to human subjects at high doses. It is a complex molecule with multiple biological targets and different cellular effects. Recently, its molecular mechanisms of action have been extensively investigated. It has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. Under some circumstances its effects can be contradictory, with uncertain implications for human treatment. While more studies are warranted to further understand these contradictions, curcumin holds promise as a disease-modifying and chemopreventive agent," wrote J. Epstein and colleagues, Queen Mary University of London, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science.