Curcumin keeps your gut healthy

Curcumin has been linked to improvements in gastrointestinal function. A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food discusses how the administration of curcumin affects the gastrointestinal function of mice in both in vivo and in vitro setting.

• The in vivo part of the study observed the effects of curcumin on the gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion of mice in either a normal state or delayed state by atropine (ATR) or L-arginine (L-Arg), the precursor to nitric oxide.
• The researchers observed that an intragastric injection of 200 mg/kg of curcumin for 10 to 20 days caused significant improvements in gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion rates of mice delayed by ATR. An intragastric injection of the same dosage of curcumin for 15 days improved the gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion rates of mice delayed by L-Arg. However, no significant impact was noted from the same treatment on mice with normal intestinal propulsion.
• The in vitro part of the study examined the effects of curcumin on the isolated jejunum of mice.
• The researchers incubated the jejunum in curcumin. The treatment reduced the amplitude of the spontaneous contractile waves of the jejunum in a concentration-dependent manner. The same was observed in the jejunum relaxed by the administration of either ATR or acetylcholine.

The researchers concluded that curcumin has different effects on gastrointestinal movement in vitro and in vivo. Administering a moderate dose of curcumin via an intragastric injection for more than 10 days helps attenuate functional gastrointestinal disorders of mice, but has no effect on animals with normal gastrointestinal propulsion.

Read the full text of the study at this link.

Learn more about the health benefits of curcumin at Phytonutrients.news.

Journal Reference:

Yu J, Xu WH, Sun W, Sun Y, Guo ZL, Yu XL. CURCUMIN ALLEVIATES THE FUNCTIONAL GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS OF MICE IN VIVO. Journal of Medicinal Food. 1 December 2017;20(12):1176–1183. DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2017.3964