Loading…
Story
regulates · 1
Curcumin looks like it treats almost everything in the test tube, largely because it interferes with the assays themselves, and very little of it reaches the blood when taken by mouth. A medicinal chemistry review notes that no double-blind, placebo-controlled trial has shown it works. It cannot carry an anti-inflammatory plan for the heart.
contrast · 2
In cell experiments, curcumin can suppress inflammatory signals such as NF-κB and COX-2; in the body, EPA and DHA can be turned into molecules that help inflammation resolve (resolvins and protectins). They act at different points and are often sold together as an anti-inflammatory combination, but good human trials of whether the pair works better in chronic inflammatory disease are lacking.
The two face the same problem: both act in a dish, but after being swallowed they are poorly absorbed and quickly conjugated by phase II metabolism, so the active form left in the blood is far below the concentrations used in experiments.