Free curcumin goes to the brain and beyond in new study
Alzheimer’s disease is the cause of around two-thirds of dementia cases, worldwide. It is marked by progressive deficit in memory and cognitive ability, leading to deterioration of mood, motivation, language, immunity, and behavior. The majority of the focus on Alzheimer’s disease is on what it does to the brain but the progress of the disease is not confined to the central nervous system as it involves damage to the peripheral organs, including the spleen, liver, lungs, kidneys, and brain stem. These co-pathologies are what make Alzheimer’s ultimately fatal.
The new study in mice, published in the journal Antioxidants, builds on previous studies demonstrating the powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-amyloid properties of curcumin, the most concentrated source being from the turmeric rhizome (Curcuma longa).
The study was conducted on male and female transgenic mice by Jayeeta Manna, PhD, Gary Dunbar, PhD, and Panchanan Maiti, PhD, at the Field Neurosciences Institute, Central Michigan University, US, and investigated how the highly bioavailable curcuminoid formulation, CURCUGREEN (BCM-95), can help prevent abnormalities in peripheral organs of sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease.
In the study, the subject mice orally received the equivalent of 100 mg/kg of Curcugreen (BCM-95) for two months. Cellular changes in the spleen, liver, kidney, and lungs were investigated for cell death, amyloid deposition, pTau levels (nerve fiber markers of Alzheimer’s), pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers, and overall cell death/survival markers.
Results showed that treatment reduced enlargement and degeneration of the spleen, inflammation in the kidney, lung damage, and damage to the liver, including enlargement of liver cells and inflammation of the central hepatic vein. The results also showed a reduction in cell death in all these areas.
In the brain, the supplement also appeared to decrease amyloid deposition, pTau, cell loss, and reductions in inflammatory markers.
Benny Antony, PhD, Joint Managing Director for Arjuna and inventor of CURCUGREEN (BCM-95), said: “We are encouraged by this suggestion that curcumin could help protect against secondary organ stress and cellular damage, and help against overall damage wrought by this undiscriminating disease.”
Antony says one of the primary advantages of Curcugreen’s (BCM-95) curcuminoid compounds is the high bioavailability. Curcuminoid compounds typically have poor solubility in most body fluids, limiting their bioavailability. However, free curcumin levels achieved with the bioavailable formulation of curcuminoids and essential oil of turmeric in this supplement proved to be about 200 to 300 times more prevalent in the blood, brain, liver and kidney than levels reported for natural curcumin in other studies.
“Cognitive health is emerging as one of the more serious health issues facing an aging population,” adds Antony. “But in the case of Alzheimer’s disease, the co-morbid damage to the rest of the body’s critical structures raises the stakes of prevention and mitigation quite literally to life or death status. At Arjuna, we believe that maintaining physical brain and body health naturally through safe and effective plant-based ingredients is a game-changer. Our highly bioavailable turmeric extract can be an important weapon in the campaign against this devastating, yet widely prevalent, disease.”
Source: Antioxidants
Manna, J., Dunbar, G.L., and Maiti, P.
"Curcugreen Treatment Prevented Splenomegaly and Other Peripheral Organ Abnormalities in 3xTg and 5xFAD Mouse Models of Alzheimer’s Disease"