University of Arizona researchers are studying how the spice turmeric could be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
The South Asian spice has been used for centuries to treat many ailments. Long known for its anti-inflammatory benefits, how it works in the body had not been determined.
But UA professor of medicine Janet Funk is now heading up a clinical trial to determine how turmeric can help. Funk's research team have studied the compounds in turmeric for about a decade.
“They can inactivate a protein that’s responsible for starting at the very tip of the cascade of inflammatory events that happens in your body, so if you inhibit this one protein you prevent lots and lots of inflammatory things from being produced,” Funk said.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes the body’s defense system to attack itself. When it flares, tissue around joints become inflamed, resulting in swelling, pain, joint destruction and disability, Funk said. There is no known cure.
Forty-five people are being recruited for the clinical trial. Participants will take dietary supplements for a month to determine the safety of the remedy and its effective doses.
A questionnaire has also been prepared by the research team to identify popular botanical dietary supplements currently being used by people with rheumatoid arthritis. Additional information about botanical arthritis research at the University of Arizona is available.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to clarify how the questionanaire is being used by the research team.
Updated 12/31/2015 at 2:10 p.m.
