The 'Root' of Arthritis Relief

Janet L. Funk, MD, at the UA College of Medicine worked with Barbara N. Timmermann, PhD who was then-director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Arizona Centre for Phytomedicine Research at the University. They set out to determine whether and how turmeric works as an anti-arthritic agent. Dr. Funk and her colleagues tested on animals a whole extract of turmeric root with only the essential oils and an oil-depleted extract containing the three major curcuminoids found in the rhizome.

Of the three extracts, the one containing the major curcuminoids was similar in chemical composition to the commercially available turmeric dietary supplements. It also was the most effective, completely inhibiting the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Funk an endocrinologist, says this study provides several noteworthy "firsts." Completed with the researchers own prepared and well-defined extracts, the study represents the first documentation of the chemical composition of a curcumin-containing extract tested on a living organism for anti-arthritic efficacy. It also provides the first evidence of anti-arthritic efficacy of a complex turmeric extract that is analogous in composition to turmeric dietary supplements.

This study also provides the first in vivo documentation of how curcumin-containing extracts prevent arthritis. The researchers found that the curcuminoid extract inhibits a transcription factor called NF-KB from being activated in the joint. A transcription factor is a protein that takes controls when genes are switched on or off. Once the transcription factor NF-KB is activated it binds to genes and enhances the production of inflammatory proteins, destructive to the joint.