Translated from German
27/08/2013 08:50
Dr Jo Shilling Press and Public Relations
TWIN CORE - Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research
The spice turmeric yellow of the root is not an integral part of Indian cuisine - probably because people know its digestive properties for centuries. The dye curcumin, the curry and Co gives its bright yellow color, also has anti-carcinogenic. Scientists at the TWINCORE in Hanover have now demonstrated that curcumin also acts against hepatitis C virus (HCV): The yellow dye prevents the virus from entering the liver cells.
Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are considered to be HCV infected - about half a million people live in Germany with the virus. "The hepatitis C virus is specialized in liver cells, and chronic liver infection with HCV is now the leading cause of liver transplants," says Dr. Eike Steinmann, scientists at the Institute for Experimental Virology. Particularly problematic is the time after transplantation, because the transplanted livers were quickly infected by virus reservoirs in the body with HCV and destroyed by the virus. "To prevent this re-infection and thus to protect the new organ before the infection is a major clinical challenge," says Eike Steinmann. "In my country, people goldenseal eat if they have liver problems," says the native of Indonesia scientists Anggakusuma also from the Institute for Experimental Virology. "This has encouraged us to look at a liver-specific virus by the action of curcumin." With success: In cell culture, the yellow dye prevents the entry of HC virus into liver cells by altering the flexibility of the viral envelope. Moreover, it inhibits the passage of virus from cell to cell of a liver. "We then tested in combination with the drugs curcumin on the market for HCV in cell culture and observed a significant increased antiviral effect of the combination compared with the drugs administered individually." And the combination of curcumin and green tea - from the Eike Steinmann was able to prove in 2011 that his ingredient epigallocatechin-3-gallate entry of HCV inhibits liver cells - is significantly more effective than curcumin or green tea alone. Will spiced with turmeric Green tea is now the standard drink on the transplant station? "The results do, of course, courage," says Eike Steinmann, but curcumin has a catch: its low bioavailability. The dye is broken down in the body very quickly and therefore can only work a short time after ingestion. Therefore, the Indonesian partner TWINCORE scientists working on new formulations. Make nanocrystals ago from curcumin, a significantly higher persistence in the body than the normal seasoning powder. In the formulation, however, needs to be further developed so that the yellow spice can be used against HCV at all. Meanwhile, scientists are looking for other viruses that might also be shut out with the Indian spice from our cells. Publication: Good. 2013 Jul 31 doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2012-304299. [Epub ahead of print] Turmeric curcumin Inhibits entry of all hepatitis C virus genotypes into human liver cells. Anggakusuma, Colpitts CC, Schang LM, Rachmawati H, Frentzen A, Pfaender S, Behrendt P, Brown RJ, Bankwitz D, Steinmann J, Ott M, Meuleman P, Rice CM, Ploss A, Pietschmann T, Steinmann E. Contact: Dr. Eike Steinmann, eike.steinmann (at) twincore.de Tel: +49 (0) 511-220027-133 Anggakusuma, angga.kusuma @ twincore.de Tel: +49 (0) 511-220027-138
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