Fruits, immunity and COVID

Turmeric or Curcuma longa has been used for ages both as a flavor in many cuisines and as a medicine to treat many diseases. It is known for treating flatulence, jaundice, menstrual difficulties, hematuria, hemorrhage, and colic or is being applied as an ointment to treat many skin conditions. 

The active constituents of turmeric are flavonoid curcumin (diferuloylmethane) and numerous volatile oils like tumerone, atlantone, and zingiberone. 

Anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric-

Curcumin has shown similar effectiveness as cortisone or phenylbutazone when administered orally in cases of acute inflammation. It significantly reduces inflammatory swelling. 

C. longa’s anti-inflammatory properties can be described as its ability to inhibit both biosyntheses of inflammatory prostaglandins from arachidonic acid and neutrophil function during inflammatory states. It also inhibits LOX, COX, phospholipases, leukotrienes, prostaglandins, thromboxane, nitric oxide elastase, hyaluronidase, collagenase, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, interferon-inducible protein, TNF and interleukin-12; and also decrease prostaglandin formation and inhibit leukotriene biosynthesis via the lipoxygenase pathway. 

The effect of a combination of 480mg curcumin and 20mg quercetin (per capsule) on delayed graft rejection (DGR) in 43 kidney transplant patients has been investigated in an RCT of 39 participants. The study reported DGR in 14.29% of participants in the control group contrasting 0% in either treatment group, with early function (significantly decreased serum creatinine 48 hours post-transplant) being achieved in 43% of subjects in the control group contrasting 71% of those in the low-dose treatment group. 

As the amount of quercetin in the compound was too little, curcumin was thought to induce major anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. 

Antimicrobial properties 

Turmeric has been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of varoius bacteria, parasites, and pathogenic fungi. A study utilized chicks infected with the caecal parasite Eimera maxima to demonstrate that diets supplemented with turmeric result in a reduction in small intestinal lesion scores and improves weight gain. 

Another study, which utilized guinea pigs; infected with either dermatophytes, pathogenic molds, or yeast; topically applied with turmeric oil, inhibited dermatophytes and pathogenic fungi. Their lesions disappeared seven days post-turmeric application. 

A study investigated the antifungal, antibacterial, phytotoxic, cytotoxic and insecticidal activity of an ethanolic extract of turmeric, which showed antifungal activity towards Trichophyton longifusus and Microsporum canis and weak antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. It also showed toxic activity against Lemna minor. 

From the aforementioned incidences, curcumin can be clearly considered a great potential therapeutic agent for a variety of inflammatory conditions and infectious conditions. The primary obstacle in utilizing curcumin therapeutically is its limited systemic bioavailability. But the recent researches are devoted to finding the most efficient method of application.

Source: Labban L. Medicinal and pharmacological properties of Turmeric (Curcuma longa): A review, Int J Pharm Biomed Sci. 2014;5(1):17-23