Turmeric Protects the Digestive Linings Against Peptic Ulcers

By Kyle J. Norton

A peptic ulcer is a sore on either the lining of the stomach or duodenum caused by long-term production of digestive acids.

In other words, peptic ulcer can be caused by Helicobacter pylori infection or long-term injection of drugs that weaken the lining of the stomach or duodenum.

There are 2 types of peptic ulcer, including 

* Gastric ulcers that affect the lining of the stomach 

* Duodenal ulcers that affect the upper portion of the small intestine.

Most common symptom of peptic ulcer is the burning sensation in the stomach. In severe cases, some patients may also experience symptoms vomiting or vomiting blood, inclduing red or dark stool, nausea or vomiting.

If you have some of the aforementioned symptoms, please check with your doctor to rule out the possibility.

Epidemiological studies suggested that smoking-induced risk of bacterial infection, excessive drinking alcohol drinking and eating spicy food, in the long run, can erode the lining of the stomach and induced overproduction of stomach acid.

Dr. Eastwood GL in the examination of the role of smoking in peptic ulcer disease wrote, "Cigarette smoking appears to be a risk factor for the development, maintenance, and recurrence of peptic ulcer disease. Smoking has an inconsistent effect on gastric acid secretion, but it does have other effects on the upper gastrointestinal function that could contribute to the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease".

And, " smokers will benefit immediately by stopping or reducing cigarette consumption".
 

Conventionally, the most common treatment of peptic ulcer is to prevent further damage by reducing levels of stomach acid so the lining can be healed itself. 

In patients with a bacterial infection, antibiotics may be prescribed.

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and for the treatment of flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

On finding a natural compound for the treatment of peptic ulcer, researchers examined the efficacy of adjunctive therapy with curcumin on the eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection and severity of dyspepsia in patients with PU.

The randomized double-blind placebo-controlled parallel-group trial, included patients diagnosed with PU assigned to standard H. pylori eradication triple therapy with clarithromycin (500 mg b.i.d.), amoxicillin (1 000 mg b.i.d.) and pantoprazole (40 mg b.i.d.), and randomized to receive either curcumin (500 mg/day) or placebo as adjunct to standard treatment.

Compared to conventional treatment groups, adjunctive therapy including curcumin was associated with greater improvement of dyspepsia symptoms according to the HKDI score. 

Furthermore, in the curcumin treatment group, dyspepsia resolved during the course of treatment was significantly higher (27.6 %) compared to placebo (6.7%) group.

According to the UBT test, curcumin exerted a similar effect (73.3%) against H. pylori.

In other words, curcumin protects the gastrointestinal tract against the onset of peptic ulcer.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "Addition of curcumin on top of the standard anti-helicobacter regimen in patients with PU is safe and improves dyspepsia symptoms but has no enhancing effect on the eradication of H. pylori infection".

In order to understand the possible anti-inflammatory mechanisms through which MTrPP delivered antiulcer effects, researchers examined the effect of curcumin on rats triggered with early phase gastric inflammation (LPS) followed by ulcer induction (swim-stress) pretreated with MTrPP (150 mg/kg b.w.) for 14 days.

Where MTrPP is a low molecular weight modified pectin from turmeric.

According to the tested results, MTrPP not only offered up to 91% protection by limiting the production of pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-8, NF-κB) but also inhibited the expression of enzymes and matrix associated with the onset of ulcer.

Furthermore, MTrPP also protected the gastrointestinal linning against the initiation of the ulcer by exhibiting the elicitation of gastro-protective mediators such as mucin, prostaglandin E2, NOx, zinc, IgA and inhibiting the expression oxidative stress.

In other words, MTrPP protects all aspect of the gastrointestinal lining by creating a possible environment by switching from the inflammatory to anti-inflammatory phase.

Taken altogether, turmeric processed abundantly bioactive compound curcumin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of peptic ulcer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of turmeric in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters 
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally 

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca


Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Adjunctive Therapy with Curcumin for Peptic Ulcer: a Randomized Controlled Trial by Khonche A1, Biglarian O1, Panahi Y2, Valizadegan G1, Soflaei SS3, Ghamarchehreh ME1, Majeed M4, Sahebkar A. (PubMed)
(2) A modified pectic polysaccharide from turmeric (Curcuma longa) with antiulcer effects via anti-secretary, mucoprotective and IL-10 mediated anti-inflammatory mechanisms by Rajagopal HM1, Manjegowda SB1, Serkad C1, Dharmesh SM. (PubMed)
(3) The role of smoking in peptic ulcer disease by Eastwood GL. (PubMed)