Turmeric is the main ingredients used to make curry. Compound in turmeric, which gives a yellow color to the roots and have a distinctive taste, called curcumin may help treat conditions of drug resistance in patients with tuberculosis, according to a study published in the journal Respirology.
Tuberculosis (TB) that is resistant to most antibiotics can be dangerous and difficult to treat. The disease is caused by airborne bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which usually attacks the lungs, but it can also harm the brain, kidneys and spine.
Most TB can be treated with antibiotics; but because of the high incidence of antibiotic resistance, some strains of TB bacteria also became resistant to the drug.
Finding a new type of treatment for drug-resistant TB, is not easy but it is urgent to do.
With the emergence of drug-resistant TB, new agents that have a direct antimycobacterial effects or immune-boosting, are needed.
The researchers noted that the results of their study showed that curcumin is able to stimulate the immune system by promoting apoptosis. Apoptosis is a biological mechanism that is one kind of programmed death. Apoptosis is used by multicellular organisms unttuk cells that are not required by the body.
Apoptosis is the effector mechanisms used by macrophages (a big eater, white blood cells that engulf and digest pathogens) to kill intracellular TB bacteria.
Curcumin is a substance found in turmeric and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. For centuries, turmeric has been used to treat arthritis, stomach problems, and other health problems.
In 2014, a research has shown that curcumin was shown to reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Other studies have also found that curcumin has the potential to reduce tumor size and cancer, or slow their growth.
"Our study has provided basic evidence that curcumin may protect us from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis," said Dr. Xiyuan Bai, lead author of the study.
"The role of curcumin's protective against drug-resistant TB in the case still needs to be confirmed. But, if it is successfully validated, curcumin may be a new treatment to modulate the immune response to tackle drug-resistant TB."
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