A new study, published in the August issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, found a pill containing large doses of curcumin (a chemical found in curry and turmeric) and quercetin, an antioxidant found in onions, helped prevent pre-cancerous polyps in several people at high risk for colon cancer.
Five people with an inherited disease called familial adenomatous polyposis, which often leads to colon cancer, took the pill for six months. The average number of polyps the patients developed dropped by more than 60 per cent, and the average size of the polyps was reduced by 50 per cent, said Dr. Francis M. Giardiello, senior author of the study and a gastroenterologist at the cancer centre at Johns Hopkins University.
Earlier studies had suggested that people who eat large amounts of curry have lower rates of colon cancer. But to have real effect, the chemicals probably need to be taken in pill form, Giardiello says. “You can put a lot of turmeric on your food, and it's still only 3 per cent to 6 per cent of curcumin,'' he says. “The supplement is multiple times what you eat in a regular diet.''
The US National Institute of Health sponsored the research.
— Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
