Turmeric

turmeric
Fresh, the rootstock has a resinous, slightly burning taste, when dried it tastes mildly spicy and slightly bitter – it is mainly used ground because of its colouring power, for example as an essential component of curry powder. Turmeric is much cheaper than saffron, which also has a strong yellow colour. Today India is the world’s largest agricultural country and consumes around 80% of the world’s harvest. In Western cuisine turmeric plays a subordinate role as a component of curry powder, as a cheap substitute for saffron or as a colorant in the food industry, for example for mustard, pasta or turmeric rice.
Turmeric should be stored dark and not for too long, as the colour fades quickly in light and loses its aroma.

Medical effects

Since curcumin as one of the strongest pan-assay interference compounds can cause false-positive results in chemical investigations, a large part of the published positive results is probably incorrect. Due to the low oral bioavailability of curcumin, it is unlikely that the results of in vitro studies can be transferred to humans. „The yellow dyes contained in some types of curcuma, especially curcumin, show and “ In genetically modified mice, curcumin was effective against cystic fibrosis, but this effect could not yet be repeated in human subjects.
Research suggests that curcumin could contribute to the breakdown of the tumour suppressor protein p53 and thus promote the growth of cancer cells. „In 2005, an experiment was described in which p53 increased in curcumin-treated breast cancer cells.
in patients with knee arthrosis. The size of the remaining polyps was reduced on average by 50 percent. Curcumin has been shown to reduce bone loss. In addition, it counteracts the loss of bone density caused by estrogen deficiency, as a study with mice suggests.