A turmeric, turmeric
components, curcumin or curcuminoid modified nut or seed butter spread
known as A which is resistant to oxidation with improved cu/co/tc/tu/mx
solubility and possessing some human health benefits comprising: 0.2-70%
of components selected from the group consisting of curcumin, curcuminoids,
turmeric components and turmeric; and 30-99.8% of nut or seed particles
and/or nut/seed butters as a dispersing medium. This spread has increased
resistance to oxidation and bacterial attack as compared to the nut or
seed butter alone. Based on health studies of curcumin, the modified nut
or seed butter spread is also expected to have significant preventative
health benefits including effectiveness as a chemopreventive, anti-Alzheimer's,
anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial agent. The nut/seed butter medium
improves the solubility and bioavailability of cu/co/tc/tu/mx. The invention
is taste perfected for the western palate, it will serve as a novel vehicle
for making curcumin/turmeric consumption an integral part of the western
diet.
Turmeric is the dried powdered
rhizome derived from the plant Curcuma Longa . Curcuminoids constitute
around 5% of most turmeric preparations and can be readily isolated from
the plant [1]. There has recently been considerable interest in curcumin,
[(1E,6E)-1,7-bis (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) hepta-1,6-diene 3,5-dione]
the primary active ingredient in turmeric, because it has been shown to
have anticancer[1,2,3a,3b], antioxidant [4,5], anti-inflammatory [6], anti-Alzheimer's
disease activity [7,8] antibacterial activity [9] and cardioprotective
benefits [10,11]. Curcumin's anti- cancer properties are a result of it's
ability to modulate and work on multiple cell signaling pathways, including
cell cycle (cyclin D1 and cyclin E), apoptosis (activation of caspases
and down-regulation of antiapoptotic gene products), reduces proliferation
(HER-2, EGFR, and AP-1), survival (PI3K/AKT pathway), reduces invasion
(MMP-9 and adhesion mols.), angiogenesis (VEGF), metastasis (CXCR-4) and
reduces inflammation (NF-k?, TNF, IL-6, IL-1, COX-2, and 5-LOX) [1,2,3,4].
Curcumin has multiple neuro-protective mechanisms including inhibition
of inflammation, suppression of (Aymyloid) A? production, reduction of
reactive oxygen species by chelating metals, inhibition of stress pathways
and induction of heat shock proteins [7]. There is evidence that that turmeric
consumption in the diet (South East Asian) has been correlated with a reduced
incidence of Alzheimer's disease [7] and colon cancer [12]. It is thus
evident from the above that the making curcumin and/or curcuminoids and/or
turmeric components intake an integral part of the American diet will have
a huge positive impact on American health and healthcare. Turmeric, Curcumin
and Curcuminoids are Generally Regarded as Safe for human consumption by
the Unites States Food and Drug Administration. There have been over 2600
peer reviewed articles published in English since 1966, ˜19 review articles
have been written in the last ten years and curcumin has been or is currently
being used in over 17 clinical trials [4]
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