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Pastimes : Foodies' Corner - Recipes, Food News, and the like -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Crocodile who wrote (374)	5/28/2000 3:10:00 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 472

An interesting website: thespicehouse.com

To: Crocodile who wrote (374)	1/8/2001 3:15:20 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 472

Company Says Curry Spice Might Prevent Bowel Cancer LONDON (Reuters Health) - A spice used in curry powder might help prevent and treat bowel cancer, according to study results released Monday by the UK botanicals' pharmaceutical company Phytopharm. The spice, turmeric (curcuma longa), a member of the ginger family, is believed to have medicinal properties because it inhibits production of the inflammation-related enzyme cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2), levels of which are abnormally high in certain inflammatory diseases and cancers. Phytopharm said in a news release that its natural product, P54, had now been subjected to a study in 15 patients with advanced colorectal cancer at the Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust and the Medical Research Council Centre for Mechanisms of Human Toxicology. Five groups of patients were dosed orally once a day with 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 capsules of P54, for up to 4 months. Anti-tumour activity was assessed clinically, biochemically and radiologically every 28 days. ``No dose-limiting toxicity was identified and all of the patients tolerated their allocated dose without any significant safety issues,'' the firm said. In addition, dose-related inhibition of COX-2 was noted. ``We are all cautiously optimistic that inhibition of COX-2 may be an important mechanism to reduce cancer risk. The results of this trial appear to confirm that P54 is able to inhibit COX-2 and may have a role in both the prevention of colon cancer and, possibly, could form part of a treatment regimen for established disease,'' according to lead investigator, Professor Will Steward from the University of Leicester School of Medicine and Biological Sciences. Dr. Richard Dixey, chief executive of Phytopharm, told Reuters Health that the firm is discussing development opportunities with three companies. The firm was particularly interested in developing P54 as a food product for chemo-prevention of bowel cancer--thereby bypassing the normal pharmaceutical regulatory pathway. This represents a huge potential market--300,000 people with colonic polyps in the UK alone who could start chemo-prevention in their 40s and 50s and continue for the rest of their lives. Dixey said P54 works earlier in the chemical pathway than do conventional COX-2 inhibitors and should therefore avoid their side effects while still being as effective. As a natural product, turmeric had been used in cooking for thousands of years. He stressed that P54 contains certain volatile oils, which greatly increase the potency of the turmeric spice. ``You would have to eat a hell of a lot of curry to have the same effect.'' Two major companies--American Home Products and Merck--have already launched COX-2 inhibitors for arthritis and cancer indications may follow.