Numerous studies have shown this amazing herb's therapeutic advantages, which you can view here. You will be eager to incorporate turmeric into your regular diet once you have seen the indisputable evidence of its numerous and significant health advantages. However, you must learn how to fully unlock this food's potent healing potential before you start consuming it.
A rhizome, also known as a rootstock, is a type of horizontal, usually underground stem that produces roots and shoots from its nodes. It is related to ginger root (also a rhizome), and both are considered to be members of the Zingiberaceae family. It has been a stalwart component of Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for ages, serving as a medicine, spice (curry), and yellow dye.
Curcumin and Curcuminoids
The turmeric spice (Curcuma longa) contains the yellow pigment curcumin (diferuloylmethane). The two other known curcuminoids found in turmeric are desmethoxycurcumin and bis-desmethoxycurcumin. Curcumin is one of these three.All of the components in turmeric have not yet been fully characterized by science. New curcuminoids are continually being found by researchers. According to current estimates, turmeric contains well over a hundred chemical compounds, the majority of which are concentrated in the spice's essential oil.
A major problem with Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is curcumin’s (CUR) low bioavailability. Curcumin is the key active constituent of Turmeric. A preponderance of animal and clinical studies reveal that the concentrations of CUR in blood plasma, urine, and peripheral tissues, if detectable at all, are extremely low regardless of dosage size.
What is Bioavailability?
According to the Merck manual, “Bioavailability refers to the extent to and rate at which the active moiety (drug or metabolite) enters systemic circulation, thereby accessing the site of action.”
Essentially, bioavailability is about how much of an ingested substance is actually absorbed by our bodies. It follows that substances with poor bioavailability will not be effective for healing purposes.
Research Confirms Turmeric’s Low Bioavailability
Key Points:
Numerous curcumin studies confirm that very low blood serum levels are reached when curcumin is orally administered. The majority of orally ingested curcumin gets metabolized before it reaches the bloodstream. Increasing the dose does not result in greater absorption.
The route of administration and method of preparation are major factors affecting the bioavailability or serum levels of turmeric.
Turmeric’s bioavailabity can be enhanced with the addition of specific Adjuvants.
Studies
Low Serum Concentratiions
A study on the fate of curcumin in the rat (1978) by Whalstrom and Blennow showed oral curcumin was poorly absorbed in the gut. When 1g/kg of curcumin was orally administered to the rats only a negligible amount of curcumin was found in their blood plasma. About 75% of it was excreted via the feces.
A study in 1980 by Ravindranath et al found when rats were orally administered 400 mg of curcumin, no trace of curcumin was found in the heart blood while only a small trace was found in the portal blood within 15 min to 24 hours of administration.
Another recent study by Yang et al found that when 10 mg/kg of curcumin was orally administered only 0.36 µg/ml of curcumin was found in the blood serum.
A pilot study conducted by Sharma et al. on patients with colorectal cancer. The patients were given Curcuma extract which contained 36–180 mg curcumin in proprietary capsule for 4 months. After 29 days of oral curcumin: Neither curcumin nor its metabolites were detected in the plasma, blood and urine. Although traces of curcumin and curcumin sulfate were found in feces.
Tissue Distribution
In another study: Absorption and tissue distribution of curcumin in rats. Ravindranath et al found after orally administering 400 mg of curcumin to rats: “only traces of the unchanged molecule were found in the liver and kidney. At 30 min, 90% of the curcumin was found in the stomach and small intestine, but only 1% was present at 24 h. [hours].”
NOTE: Very few studies have been done on Curcumin and tissue distribution.
Metabolites
Metabolites are the intermediate and final products of the process known as metabolism, which is from the Greek word for “change.” Metabolism is a step-wise series of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms. The term metabolites commonly refer to small molecules.
Primary metabolites are necessary for the normal growth and maintenance of life. Secondary metabolites support primary metabolite activity indirectly and serve other important ecological functions. Metabolites are a natural occurrence formed when as part of an inherent biological process that breaks down and eliminates various compounds.
Research indicates that metabolites of curcumin, instead of curcumin itself, are detected in plasma or serum following oral consumption.
The majority of studies have shown that these metabolites are actually less active or potent compared to curcumin itself.
Bottom Line: when curcumin is metabolized the potency of its metabolites are less potent than curcumin.
The intestine and liver, is where oral curcumin is conjugated (the formation of a water-soluble derivative of a chemical by its combination with another compound, such as glutathione, glucuronate, or sulfate.) into metabolites.
Based on various studies the metabolites produced are: curcumin glucuronides and curcumin sulfates or, alternately, reduced to hexahydrocurcumin(HHC) and Tetrahydrocurcumin (THC). Again most studies have shown that these metabolites are less biologically active compared to the parent compound curcumin.
Short Half-life
Half-life is the time it takes for a drug or other ingested substance to
lose half its strength. Medications with a short half-life must be
taken several times a day, to maintain therapeutically effective
concentrations of blood serum levels.
In contrast, medications with longer half lives maintain effective blood
serum levels for much longer periods of time and can be taken less
frequently.
The studies by Whalstrom and Blennow demonstrated curcumin’s rapid systemic excretion from the body or short half-life. As mentioned when 1g/kg curcumin was given orally to rats around 75% of the curcumin was excreted via the feces with only trace amounts found in the urine. A short half -life decreases Turmeric’s therapeutic effect in the body. More studies are needed in order to draw definitive conclusions about Turmeric’s half-life.
Three Easy Kitchen Table Strategies that can Skyrocket Turmeric’s Bioavailability
NOTE: Always use fresh organic, non-irradiated Turmeric powder or whole, organic turmeric root.
