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Open Source Apothecary At Home / The herbs
A genuine anti-inflammatory with a formulation problem — and a rare liver risk at high doses. — Curcuma longa
remedyTurmeric (Curcuma longa) is the best-studied culinary anti-inflammatory, and the literature contains a genuine problem: curcumin is very poorly absorbed.
What the trials show. Curcumin has randomised evidence for knee osteoarthritis symptom improvement, comparable in some trials to NSAIDs, and is studied in inflammatory conditions generally. The trials almost always use a formulation designed to raise bioavailability — piperine (black pepper extract), phospholipid complexes, or nano-emulsions — because plain curcumin powder is largely unabsorbed. This is why culinary turmeric and a clinical curcumin supplement are not the same intervention.
The safety point that is newer and matters. Cases of liver injury from high-dose curcumin supplements have been reported, and turmeric/curcumin supplements are now a recognised cause of herbal hepatotoxicity. The risk is associated with high-dose supplements rather than culinary use. Curcumin also has antiplatelet activity, so it adds to anticoagulants.
Growing it here is marginal — a tropical rhizome that has to be lifted before frost or grown in a container. See the roots page.
Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disease that can greatly affect quality of life in middle-aged and elderly individuals.PubMed 40806131 ↗
The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the effect of curcumin on a range of health outcomes.PubMed 39478418 ↗
Curcumin, either alone or in combination with other treatments, is considered to have good clinical efficacy and safety in KOA treatment.PubMed 38036015 ↗
While the potential benefits were observed, it is recommended that future trials focus on finding a suitable dose and duration of intervention and incorporate formulation in curcumin to enhance its absorption.PubMed 39683570 ↗
The results strongly support curcuminoid supplementation in relieving pain, improving joint mobility and stiffness, and shortening medication usage of OA patients.PubMed 38576215 ↗
It seems that turmeric/curcumin supplementation might be used as a viable intervention for improving inflammatory/oxidative status of individuals.PubMed 36804260 ↗
| | | |---|---| | Life | Tropical perennial; annual here | | Propagation | Rhizome pieces with a growing eye | | Light | Full sun | | Soil | Rich, well drained; warmth essential | | Season | Needs a long warm season — container or cover | | Harvest | End of season, when leaf dies back; lift before frost | | Dry | 45-55 C, sliced |
Save a piece of rhizome indoors over winter to replant. Curcumin content varies with cultivation.
Culinary — turmeric in food, always with black pepper and fat to improve absorption.
Golden milk — turmeric, black pepper, fat, gently heated.
Standardised curcumin supplement — what the trials used; a bioavailability-enhanced formulation.
Fresh rhizome — grate into food; more aromatic than the dried powder.
The absorption point — always with black pepper (piperine) and with fat, or as a formulated supplement. Otherwise very little is absorbed.