Turmeric, a natural born cancer killer...

Researchers at
UCLA's
Jonsson
Comprehensive
Cancer Centre have
found that
curcumin, the main
component in the
spice
turmeric,
suppresses a cell-
signalling pathway
in human saliva that
drives the growth of
head and neck
cancer.
The inhibition of the cell signalling
pathway was also correlated with
reduced expression of a number of
pro-inflammatory cytokines, or
signalling molecules, in the saliva
that promote cancer growth, said Dr.
Marilene Wang, senior author of the
study and a Jonsson Cancer Centre
researcher.
"This study shows that curcumin can
work in the mouths of patients with
head and neck malignancies and
reduce activities that promote
cancer growth," Wang said.
"And it not only affected the
cancer by inhibiting a critical cell signalling pathway, it also affected
the saliva itself by reducing pro-
inflammatory cytokines within the
saliva,"she added.
The study was published September
15 in Clinical Cancer Research, a
peer-reviewed journal of the
American Association of Cancer
Research .