Curcumin (curry) Is Serotonergic

Here is one study but there are many more like it. I picked this one since it seemed to do the most thorough comparison of curcumin with the effects of some SSRI drugs, and as you can see they were pretty similar:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17942093

In addition, ginger and curcumin are first cousins and there are studies on ginger showing the same effect on serotonin receptors with the notable exception of ginger being an antagonist to the 5-HT3 receptors, which would explain its beneficial effects on the GI tract.
Thoughts/comments?

 

Very interesting. I really like ginger and am going to add more of it to my diet and see what happens. Not as big a fan of curry but may give that a go as well.

Thank you for doing and posting all this great research. You add so much to the forum!

 

I believe that Ginger can increase Nitric Oxide like capsicain do...

 

Yes, Peat told me the same thing over an email but he also said that the roots like ginger and curcumin are likely less dangerous than capsaicin, which is known to accelerate aging.

 

I found fresh ginger to give me "IBS" symptoms.

 

It also poisons DNA in exactly the same way as the chemo drug etopiside and fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Would not touch for a trillion dollars now.

Curcumin as a DNA topoisomerase II poison.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15008515

 

Isn't that why they say it kills cancer cells?

 

I know this is an older thread, but I take curcumin for knee pain and found it to be rather effective. Also, I am trying to lower cortisol in the evenings and have been taking it at that time. These studies seem to point to efficicacy in it being an antioxidant (which I thought was a good thing in Peatland, i.e. upping Co2 levels), anti-inflammatory, an analgesic and an ACTH (cortisol) suppressor. So what's not to love?

Curcumin Inhibits ACTH- and Angiotensin II-Stimulated Cortisol Secretion and Cav3.2 Current
Bioavailability of herbs and spices in humans as determined by ex vivo inflammatory suppression and DNA strand breaks. - PubMed - NCBI
Lipid peroxide induced DNA damage: protection by turmeric (Curcuma longa). - PubMed - NCBI
Alteration of AP-endonuclease1 expression in curcumin-treated fibrotic rats. - PubMed - NCBI
Potential Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin, the Anti-inflammatory Agent, Against Neurodegenerative, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Metabolic, Autoimmune and Neoplastic Diseases
Efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts in patients with knee osteoarthritis. - PubMed - NCBI

Seriously, does curcumin's bad outweigh its good?

 

I've been giving my cat high does curcumin for bowel cancer/IBS and it's helped significantly with appetite, bowel movements (they're formed now rather than pure diarrhea), and inflammation. The risk to DNA only seems to be at higher doses, in fact it has the ability to reduce DNA damage and aid in DNA repair along with protecting the kidneys.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21332098
Renoprotective effect of the antioxidant curcumin: Recent findings

 

using too much

 

Yes it was about two or three inches of grated root.

 

If I get indigestion or feel gassy, two drops of food-grade ginger oil in a gelatin capsule calms my stomach like nothing else. The stuff is amazing and, so far, has worked better for me than anything else I have tried.

 

For what its worth I put an inch thru the juicer when juicing oranges for two cups oj...like it.

 

Thanks, I have to try that!!

 

WOW...that's a lot!!!

I absolutely LOVE ginger, but not sure I could stomach that amount.

 

Yum.

Ditto.

 

I think that explains my symptoms

 

Curcumin lowers elevated fatty acid levels in type 2 diabetics, improving glucose control, and also protects against mitochondrial dysfunction.

Curcuminoids exert glucose-lowering effect in type 2 diabetes by decreasing serum free fatty acids: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - Na - 2012 - Molecular Nutrition & Food Research - Wiley Online Library
Curcumin ameliorates mitochondrial dysfunction associated with inhibition of gluconeogenesis in free fatty acid-mediated hepatic lipoapoptosis. - PubMed - NCBI

 

All the studies I have looked at show ginger (or at least its most active compounds) lower nitric oxide:

The Amazing and Mighty Ginger - Herbal Medicine - NCBI Bookshelf
Reactive nitrogen species, such as nitric oxide (NO), influence signal transduction and cause DNA damage, which contributes to disease processes. Nitric oxide is produced by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which is stimulated in response to various stresses. [6]-gingerol was reported to dose-dependently inhibit NO production and reduce iNOS in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse macrophages (Ippoushi et al. 2003). [6]-gingerol also effectively suppressed peroxynitritemediated oxidative damage (Ippoushi et al. 2003). Ippoushi et al. (2003) later proposed that [6]-gingerol and peroxynitrite form a symmetric dimer with [6]-gingerol covalently linked at the aromatic ring of peroxynitrite, attenuating peroxynitrite-induced oxidation and nitration reactions (Ippoushi et al. 2005). [6]-shogaol, 1-dehydro-[10]-gingerdione, and [10]-gingerdione also decreased LPS-induced NO production, and [6]-shogaol and 1-dehydro-[10]-gingerdione were reported to effectively reduce iNOS expression (Koh et al. 2009). In the bromobenzene (BB)-induced hepatotoxicity model, orally given ginger extract (100 mg/kg body weight [BW]) normalized NO levels and total and reduced glutathione levels, and also decreased the level of lipid peroxidation (El-Sharaky et al. 2009). Ginger consumption has also been reported to decrease lipid peroxidation and normalize the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, as well as GSH and glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione-S-transferase, in rats (Ahmed et al. 2008). Ginger supplementation before ischemia/reperfusion resulted in a higher total antioxidant capacity (i.e., normalized glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities) and lower total oxidant (lower tissue malondialdehyde, NO, and protein carbonyl contents) status levels compared to an untreated group of Wistar albino rats (Uz et al. 2009). Overall, the rats fed ginger (5%) experienced less kidney damage due to oxidative stress induced by ischemia/reperfusion (Uz et al. 2009).

Now aspirin on the other hand I have seen raise iNOS in studies though this may only happen at very high doses/concentrations. Ginger prevents aspirin induced increases in iNOS. Ginger protects against aspirin induced gastric damage and ulceration and probaly local tissue damage and inflammation in general from aspirin exposure.

Protective Effects of Ginger against Aspirin-Induced Gastric Ulcers in Rats
Ginger powder did not affect the aspirin-induced reduction in mucosal prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) content; however, it did ameliorate the aspirin-induced increases in mucosal activity of the inducible form of NO synthase (iNOS) and plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β levels. In the next experiment, high and low doses of 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol were used instead of ginger powder in the same experimental model to examine their roles in the anti-ulcer mechanism of ginger. Both 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol reduced aspirin induced ulcer formation, mucosal iNOS and plasma TNF-α and IL-1β levels. In conclusion, ginger powder prevents the aspirin induced gastric ulcer formation by reducing mucosal iNOS activity and the plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines but does not affect gastric juice or acid production or mucosal PGE2 content. This protective effect of ginger powder against gastric ulcers may be attributable to both gingerol and shogaol.



"Histological examinations of gastric mucosal tissue. Ulcer formation with distorted gastric glands, a damaged mucosal epithelium and cell debris are shown in a (Aspirin); however, the coadministration of ginger with aspirin protected against these changes, as shown in b (Aspirin + Ginger) (hematoxylin and eosin stain). Bar = 500 µm."

Also:

"Aspirin has been reported to reduce the gastric juice pH and increase the volume of gastric juice (Wang et al., 2007), or decrease the volume of gastric juice and its acid output (Jainu et al., 2006). In the present study, the volume of gastric juice and acid output/100 g body weight for 4 h reduced by aspirin and recovered by the coadministration of ginger with aspirin. The acidity of gastric juice was not significantly changed by any treatments."
"Both ginger and aspirin reduced gastric juice production /100 g body weight. However this effects disappeared by coadministration of ginger and aspirin."

My understanding is that lowered gastric juice and acid production is a bad thing as it could negatively effect digestion. It seems both ginger and aspirin alone can have this negative effect but for some reason when taken together they do not negatively effect digestive juices/acid output. This suggest great potential synergism.

Ultimately I think ginger should eliminate the GI side effects of aspirin and the two seem synergistic in many ways. Ginger lowers nitric oxide and seems protective against radiation and endotoxin. Ginger is a 5ht3 antagonist which has many benefits including helping reverse learned helplessness. Ginger is a partial 5ht1a agonist which probaly actually lowers serotonin/raises dopamine through negative feedback loop as haidut has suggested before.

Also interestingly enough in Hong Kong a popular drink is made by boiling coke, lemon, and ginger together. It is a known remedy against cold and flu. Sounds delicious and very peaty. Considering the involvement of endotoxin and nitric oxide in cold and flu I am guessing this combo is very good at improving these biomarkers. I will try it with added aspirin maybe.

 

Screening of estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities from medicinal plants. - PubMed - NCBI
The medicinal plant extracts commercially used in Asia were screened for their estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities in a recombinant yeast system featuring both a human estrogen receptor (ER) expression plasmid and a reporter plasmid. Pueraria lobata (flower) had the highest estrogenic relative potency (RP, 7.75×10(-3); RP of 17β-estradiol=1), followed by Amomum xanthioides (1.25×10(-3)). Next potent were a group consisting of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Zingiber officinale (Ginger), Rheum undulatum, Curcuma aromatica, Eriobotrya japonica, Sophora flavescens, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Polygonum multiflorum, and Pueraria lobata (root) (ranging from 9.5×10(-4) to 1.0×10(-4)). Least potent were Prunus persica, Lycoppus lucidus, and Adenophora stricta (ranging from 9.0×10(-5) to 8.0×10(-5)).

It seems ginger is a source of phytoestrogens which could be problematic depending on how potent this effect is. Tumeric also. Maybe co-administration with aspirin would lessen the effect... I believe most plants contain phytoestrogens including coffee and chocolate but this doesn't necessarily disqualify them for safe use. Furthermore ginger has shown lots of promise in treating breast and prostate cancer as well as radiation damage which I believe suggests anti-estrogen activity.