Curcuma, inflammation treatment

The principal use of the drug today is in treatment of acid, flatulent or atonic dyspepsic ulcers, and pain and inflammation due to rheumatoid arthritis. The antiinflammatory activity of Curcumas radix has been demonstrated in animal models, its effectiveness being similar to hydrocortisone acetate and indometh-acin. Curcumin and its derivatives are the active antiinflammatory constituents, and its activity appears to be mediated through the inhibition of the enzymes trypsin and hyaluronidase. Clinical studies (randomised, double-blind)... 

Essential oils have also been shown to be useful as anti-inflammatory agents. The anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities of Ocimum sanctum fixed oil have been evaluated recently [220]. The results reported are consistent with the folk medicine use of different parts of this plant for the treatment of acute and chronic inflammation. The results of an investigation on the anti-inflammatory activities of flavonoids of Baphia nitida, another plant used in folk medicine, were recently reported [221]. The flavo no id-rich fraction of the leaf, obtained by a chromatographic process, was formulated into an ointment and exhibited significant antiinflammatory activity in several rodent inflammation models. The inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a) and interleukin-1(3 (IL-1), mediators in many acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, by curcumin (111), a phytochemical isolated from the plant Curcuma longa Linn, was recently reported [222]. This report shows that, in vitro, curcumin (111), at 5 (J.M, inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of TNF-a and IL-1 by a human monocytic macrophage cell line. 

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