Ingredient in Turmeric Powder Can Thwart Drug-induced Liver Injury,
Says Long Island University Pharmacy Professor Sidhartha Ray

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Researchers at Long Island University's Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences have found that curcumin, an ingredient found in the spice, turmeric, a plant native to India and Indonesia, protects mice against liver damage caused by toxic doses of acetaminophen, one of the most commonly used analgesic over-the-counter drugs in the world. 

Professor Sidhartha D. Ray and his doctor of pharmacy students - Ellida Bulku, Daniel Zinkovsky and Nirav Patel - will report their findings on April 4 at the annual meeting of the Federation of Societies of Experimental Biology in San Francisco, sponsored by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Although Oriental and Ayurvedic medicines traditionally have used curcumin in the treatment of disease, conventional medicine has just begun to recognize its potential therapeutic value, says Ray, who holds a Ph.D in toxicology. “The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties of curcumin have been well documented, it is high time to unravel its antitoxic potential,” says Ray, noting that the compound has been found to block cancer-causing, chemical-induced colon tumor initiation and skin tumor promotion in animals.

As an anti-inflammatory compound, curcumin also is a potent inhibitor of the formation of toxic radicals, and this led Ray to suspect it might be useful in preventing the liver toxicity sometimes caused by acetaminophen, which can produce free radicals during metabolism. According to a 2004 survey by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, 147 fatalities were reported out of approximately 6,000 overdoses of acetaminophen.

In this study, the research team divided mice into four groups, one that received neither curcumin nor acetaminophen, one that received no curcumin but did receive 400 mg/kg acetaminophen once for 24 hours, and two that received either a single dose of curcumin alone or 12 days of curcumin followed by a single dose of acetaminophen for 24 hours.   The 400 mg/kg dose is equivalent to approximately six times the recommended dosage for humans (4-6g/day for adults). 

Mice that had not been receiving curcumin experienced liver damage and liver injury associated events, including increased oxidative stress, increased cell death and massive DNA fragmentation. The mice that had received curcumin showed a dramatic protection from liver damage. Curcumin also prevented acetaminophen-induced inhibition of the expression of an anti-cell death gene, bcl-XL.  This is a very significant observation at the molecular level, says Ray.

These findings are important, says Ray, because chronic drug ingestion and exposure to pollutants and other contaminates increase our toxic exposure. “Now is the time to pay close attention to cytoprotection mechanisms and look for better ways and means to defend ourselves from a highly toxic polluted environment,” he states.

Ray is internationally known for his studies on drug and chemically-induced mechanisms of cell injury and cell death and their counteraction by phytochemicals. A professor at Long Island University since 1994, Ray contributed a chapter on “Cell Death and Apoptosis” to the book General and Applied Toxicology. He has had editorial appointments at such prestigious international journals as Archives of Toxicology and Toxicology Letters, and was named a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. He serves as an expert reviewer for many international scientific journals.

For more information on the Experimental Biology 2006 meeting, call the press room at (415) 905-1015; Sarah Goodwin at (770) 722-0155 or ASPET’s Sylvia Wrobel at (404) 606-0244.

One of the oldest and largest schools of its kind in the country, the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, on Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, educates nearly one quarter of the pharmacists in New York State and many who practice across the country. Its illustrious roster of alumni includes pharmacy professionals who are at the top echelons of their fields and at the forefront of groundbreaking developments in pharmaceutical industry.