Curcumin, a chemical that comes from the turmeric plant, has been used as a traditional Asian medicine for centuries, primarily to treat gastrointestinal ailments and skin wounds. Studies increasingly suggest that the compound may prevent or limit muscle wasting and exercise intolerance associated with a number of health conditions, including heart failure.
World over, Heart failure is the most challenging problem and there is no country that is not free from this health menace. In the US alone, it is reported, that heart failure affects more than 6 million people who have a reduced function of the left ventricle - the chamber of the heart that pumps blood out to the rest of the body -- called reduced ejection fraction. An important characteristic of heart failure is due to decreased ability to exercise (exercise intolerance).
Researcher in the past found out that it was due to higher than normal levels of oxidative stress, implying an imbalance of two different kinds of molecules that can result in cell damage. If such a thing does happen, the patients with heart condition will be prone to exercise intolerance. Though the researchers link Heart failure with lower than normal expression of antioxidant enzymes in the muscles, they are yet come up with a viable reason for this. It is proven that antioxidant enzymes are helpful in preventing and repairing damage from oxidative stress. In a scenario like this, exercise performance in people proven to heart failure will be improved by boosting enzyme levels.
Here is a good news for those who are fond of spicy food. Turmeric, an important spice used in making Indian curry, etc., has some medicinal properties that may of help to the people with heart condition. Curcumin, a chemical that comes from the turmeric plant, has been used as a
traditional Asian medicine for centuries, particularly to treat
gastrointestinal ailments and skin wounds. It is quite common even to day in rural areas when a kid has a cut or minor scrapes, his mother would immediately apply turmeric paste on the wound before taking him to the doctor or rural hospital for treatment. It is a sort of effective first aid. Studies increasingly suggest
that the compound may prevent or limit muscle wasting associated with a
number of health conditions, including heart failure.
New
research suggests that curcumin, a main ingredient in curry, may improve
exercise intolerance related to heart failure. The study is published
ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology and the work was done at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Researchers postulated that that a reduction in the normal signalling of Nrf2, a protein that regulates the expression of antioxidant enzymes, may play a role in the impaired expression of antioxidant enzymes. They studied the the effects of curcu
min, which is known to encourage activation of Nrf2, on a mouse model of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. They gave a daily dose of curcumin for 12 weeks to one group and the other group did not revive it. They compared the heart failure groups with a control group of healthy mice that received curcumin and an untreated control group.
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The research team cautiously measured all parameters related to their study such as the exercise capacity of all the mice before and after curcumin treatment and muscle fiber samples to assess enzyme expression levels. They found out that the mice with heart failure that were treated with curcumin showed better expression of Nrf2 and increased levels of antioxidant enzymes. In addition, both groups that received curcumin -- even the animals without heart failure -- had showed improved exercise capacity when compared with the untreated groups. This suggests the effects of curcumin on skeletal muscle are not exclusive to heart failure.
In a nut shell this important study of Curcumin from the turmeric plants widely cultivated in India clearly implies."....the activation of Nrf2 in skeletal muscle may represent a novel therapeutic strategy to improve ... quality of life" in people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction''.Tit-bits:
Tit-bits: Curry
(plural curries) is a variety of dishes originating in the Indian
subcontinent that use a complex combination of spices or herbs, usually
including ground turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, and fresh or dried
chilies. Curry is generally prepared in a sauce.[1] Curry dishes
prepared in the southern states of India, where the word also
originated, may be spiced with leaves from the curry tree. Journal Reference: Ahmed M. Wafi, Juan Hong, Tara L. Rudebush, Li Yu, Bryan T. Hackfort, Han-Jun Wang, Harold D. Schultz, Irving H. Zucker, Lie Gao. Curcumin Improves Exercise Performance of Mice with Coronary Artery Ligation Induced HFrEF: Nrf2 and Antioxidant Mechanisms in Skeletal Muscle. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2018; DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00654.2018
