THE substance that gives the spice turmeric its bright yellow colour, curcumin, might help treat the most common form of cystic fibrosis.
The disease is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the CFTR protein, normally found on the surface of lung and gut cells, which make the mucus in the airways and digestive tract very thick and sticky. The most common mutation, delta-F508, prevents the CFTR protein reaching the cell surface where it is needed. Recent studies in the US and Canada suggest that curcumin might allow the faulty protein to evade the 鈥渜uality control鈥� checks inside cells.
To test this, for three days researchers fed mice that had the mutation 45 milligrams of curcumin per kilogram of body weight 鈥� a quantity well-tolerated in humans. The animals鈥� gut symptoms largely disappeared. Only 1 of the 10 mice fed curcumin died after 10 weeks, compared with 6 of 10 controls. (Science, vol 304, p 600). 鈥淚t can almost completely correct the measurable defects of the disease,鈥� says team member Michael Caplan of Yale University.
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However, whether curcumin will work in the 90 per cent of cystic fibrosis sufferers who have at least one delta-F508 mutation is unclear since the mutant mice suffer few respiratory problems, unlike people with cystic fibrosis. The US Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is launching a human trial.