Compounds found in turmeric — a condiment commonly used in Indian cuisine — can help prevent prevent and treat stomach cancer, scientists claim.
Researchers Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP) and the Federal University of Para (UFPA) in Brazil identified possible therapeutic effects of curcumin — the yellow powder derived from the roots of the turmeric plant.
“We undertook a vast review of the scientific literature on all nutrients and bioactive compounds with the potential to prevent or treat stomach cancer and found that curcumin is one of them,” Danielle Queiroz Calcagno, a professor at UFPA.
According to Calcagno, compounds such as cholecalciferol (a form of vitamin D), resveratrol (a polyphenol) and quercetin can prevent or combat stomach cancer because they are natural regulators of histone activity.
Histones are proteins in cell nuclei that organise the DNA double helix into structural units called nucleosomes, according to a study published in the journal Epigenomics. Each nucleosome is made of DNA coiled like a spool around eight histone proteins (a histone octamer) to compact the DNA so that it fits in the cell, where it is packaged into chromatin. Posttranslational chemical modification of the amino acid chain in these proteins, such as acetylation (introduction of an acetyl group) or methylation (addition of a methyl group), can affect chromatin compaction and hence gene expression. (PTI)
