Treatment with Haldi - Turmeric : Effective Natural Treatments

Curcuma longa, commonly known as haldi in India , a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, ranks as an equal to the potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents now in the market.

Anti-inflammatory agents, as the name implies, are treatment used for all types inflammation. This could be inflammation caused by a sprained ankle on the football field or inflammation causing acute back pain or an inflammation of a bad tooth. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents are one of the most used and most prescribed type of drugs. The expenditure on these drugs in all hospitals is escalating and together with its widespread use there is considerable misuse and abuse. These drugs all cause gastric irritation, should never be taken by patients who have peptic ulcer and should be used with great caution by patients who have tendency towards acidity.

At a meeting held at Bandung, Indonesia, from 24-26 January 1994 the very first paper was on the anti-inflammatory property of curcuma. A drug was prepared by taking active part of two curcuma species and this was administered to sixty osteoarthritic patients who had inflammation of the joints. The trial was a double blind one in that neither the doctor not the patient knew which patient was receiving the drug and which patent was receiving the placebo, which was the “dummy” drug.

The investigators observed that the anti-inflammatory effect of the haldi preparation was as good as one of the modern synthetic drug – Piroxicam. The active substance in haldo or Curcuma longa is curcumin. Several research workers in India have already demonstrated the anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin in experimental animals, carried out in the early seventies. However, after these initially interesting results there has been a comparative lull in research on Curcuma longa and its is only recently that clinical trials have been started on the effect of Curcuma longa in patients with inflammation.

There is no reason why a simple preparation of Curcuma longa cannot be used even now at the primary health centres for the treatment of local inflammatory conditions where a paste of Curcuma longa could be applied externally. In fact, this was the standard treatment given to injuries sustained on the playing fields in my school days – and this was nearly fifty years ago.

Meanwhile, acute and subacute toxicology studies should be carried out with parts of the curcuma plant which are found to be the most active. If these studies indicate that the substances are non toxic then these should be administered to patients under controlled conditions.

Earlier one would not have thought of patents and international proprietary rights on plants and herbs used for therapeutic purpose for centuries in India. The recent experience of neem has however aroused awareness both among our scientists and in our public. Efforts should therefore be made to obtain the appropriate patents by the scientists and institutions who are working on Curcuma longa and are publishing results in scientific journals. Some help from the government at this juncture would be welcome and could yield rich dividends for the country.