This spice contains curcumin which has antiviral properties and is good for our health
New Delhi : We've all been using home remedies to keep ourselves healthy and fit during this health crisis. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, we've been doing our best to stay healthy and safe from the infection. Most of our home remedies include one ingredient, turmeric, which is known for its health benefits and medicinal properties. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin.
Turmeric is rich in antioxidants. It also has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antibacterial properties. This makes it a potent ingredient for our body and health. It has been a large part of the traditional Indian medicines for a good reason. It is also commonly used in cooking to add colour and flavour to food. But did you know that curcumin in turmeric has antiviral properties as well? A recent study published in the Journal of General Virology concluded that the compound curcumin in turmeric can prevent transmissible gastroenteritis virus which is an alpha-group coronavirus from infecting us. TGEV can cause transmissible gastroenteritis which can cause diarrhoea, severe dehydration and in some cases even death.
The researchers used concentrated curcumin compound to treat experimental cells before infecting them with TGEV for this research. They concluded that this reduced the number of virus particles in the cell culture. This means that curcumin in turmeric can kill or inactivate the virus and prevent it from spreading further. It can also prevent viruses from replicating. This means turmeric has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antiviral properties.
As per the Hindustan Times, Dr Xie said, “There are great difficulties in the prevention and control of viral diseases, especially when there are no effective vaccines. Traditional Chinese medicine and its active ingredients are ideal screening libraries for antiviral drugs because of their advantages, such as convenient acquisition and low side effects. Further studies will be required, to evaluate the inhibitory effect in vivo and explore the potential mechanisms of curcumin against TGEV, which will lay a foundation for the comprehensive understanding of the antiviral mechanisms and application of curcumin,".
