Curcumin
Episodes
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses microdosing nicotine, GlyNac benefits, intermittent fasting and hair loss, and cold & flu relief.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses if smoked salmon is carcinogenic, high-dose melatonin, creatine on workout vs. non-workout days, and the Neurocode brain scan.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses xylitol safety, strategies to reduce hemoglobin A1C, klotho and dementia risk, and the timing of hormone replacement therapy.
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Nootropics Omega-3 Fasting Pregnancy Curcumin Sauna Time-Restricted Eating Protein Supplements Urolithin ADr. Rhonda Patrick discusses microdosing nicotine, GlyNac benefits, intermittent fasting and hair loss, and cold & flu relief.
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses if smoked salmon is carcinogenic, high-dose melatonin, creatine on workout vs. non-workout days, and the Neurocode brain scan.
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Rhonda Hormones Diabetes Cholesterol Omega-3 Dementia Curcumin Protein Blood Sugar Berberine AcetaminophenDr. Rhonda Patrick discusses xylitol safety, strategies to reduce hemoglobin A1C, klotho and dementia risk, and the timing of hormone replacement therapy.
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses fish oil and Afib risk, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, supplements for kids, and curcumin's impact on testosterone.
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Rhonda Curcumin Resveratrol Sulforaphane Sauna Berberine Polyphenol Carotenoids Moringa Supplements SteviaDr. Rhonda Patrick explores iodine supplementation, choline & TMAO, curcumin safety, and red yeast rice in her latest Q&A.
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick explores melatonin's antioxidant properties, curcumin supplementation, antinutrients, and SARMs in her latest Q&A.
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Rhonda Sleep Breast Cancer Omega-3 Pregnancy Melatonin Vaccine Curcumin Bone Sauna COVID-19 Ketogenic DietDr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Dr. Gordon Lithgow discusses the roles of protein aggregation, iron overload, and others in the aging process.
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Brain Nutrition Exercise Alzheimer's Cholesterol Omega-3 Inflammation Depression Probiotics DNA Damage Stem Cells Serotonin Mental Health Cannabinoid CurcuminDr. Rhonda Patrick makes her third appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience.
Topic Pages
News & Publications
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Curcumin may act as an intervention in chronic urinary tract infection through dampening of toll-like receptors and reducing bacterial colony count pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Curcumin reduces urinary tract infection symptoms via interaction with toll-like receptors.
Urinary tract infections are common outpatient infections. They occur more frequently among women, and 50 to 60 percent of all women report having had at least one UTI in their lifetime. Findings from a 2017 study suggest that curcumin reduces the symptoms associated with urinary tract infections via interaction with toll-like receptors.
Toll-like receptors comprise a family of pattern recognition receptors expressed on the surfaces of immune and other cells. They are the principal inducers of innate immunity and are responsible for the activation of transcription factors that increase the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Chronic infections of the urinary tract, which either don’t respond to treatment or keep recurring, can occur in some people.
Curcumin is a bioactive compound found in the roots of Curcuma longa, a type of tropical plant. It is responsible for the vibrant yellow color of the spice turmeric. Evidence suggests that curcumin exerts robust antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. Curcumin also exhibits antibacterial activity, but the compound is strain-specific.
The study involved rats that had chronic urinary tract infections. Half of the rats received a curcumin injection, while the other half did not. The investigators measured the animals' white blood cell counts, bacterial counts (in the bladder and urine), markers of inflammation, and expression of toll-like receptor (TLR)2 and TLR4.
They found that white blood cell counts, bacterial counts, markers of inflammation, and expression of TLR2 and TLR4 of the rats that received the curcumin injection were considerably lower than those of the rats that didn’t receive curcumin. These findings suggest that curcumin improves the symptoms of chronic urinary tract infections and reduces inflammatory responses via dampening the expression of TLR2 and TLR4.
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Curcumin may improve exercise tolerance through antioxidant-regulating protein Nrf2. journals.physiology.org
Curcumin is the principal bioactive compound present in the yellow spice turmeric. An abundance of scientific evidence indicates that curcumin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and neuroprotective properties in humans. Findings from a 2019 study suggest that curcumin improves exercise tolerance in mice with heart failure via its activation of Nrf2.
Heart failure, commonly referred to as the end stage of heart disease, affects more than 26 million people worldwide. Exercise intolerance is a common feature of heart failure and is typically attributed to low ejection fraction – a measure of ventricular efficiency. A critical driver of low ejection fraction is oxidative stress.
Nrf2 is a cellular protein that regulates the expression of antioxidant and stress response proteins via participation in the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE biological pathway. Nrf2 activates the transcription of cytoprotective proteins that protect against oxidative stress due to injury and inflammation.
The study investigators gauged the effects of curcumin in mice that had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and in mice with healthy hearts. A subset of the mice received daily curcumin supplementation, while the others did not. The investigators measured the animals' heart function via echocardiogram, assessed their exercise performance on a treadmill, and measured the expression of Nrf2 and its target proteins in their muscles.
They found that both groups of mice that received curcumin (including those with healthy hearts) had improved exercise capacity compared to those that did not receive the compound. They also found that Nrf2 expression and antioxidant proteins increased in the mice with heart failure that received curcumin.
These findings suggest that impaired Nrf2 drives oxidative stress in skeletal muscle in those who have heart failure with low ejection fraction. Curcumin counters these effects by upregulating antioxidant defenses in skeletal muscle, likely mediated by Nrf2 activation. Many plant-based dietary compounds induce Nrf2 activity, including sulforaphane, a compound derived from broccoli and broccoli sprouts. Learn more about Nrf2 and sulforaphane in this episode featuring Dr. Jed Fahey.