Posted on by Daniel

Curcumin: A Star in Cancer Treatment Field

Summary:

CurcuminWhen searching for some of the most effective anti cancer natural extracts accessible, low cost and non toxic, Curcumin will be one of the first we will come across. Curcumin is an extract from Tumernic a yellow-pigmented curry spice that is often used in Indian foods.

Curcumin relevance in cancer was so intensively researched so that today, a search on PubMed using “curcumin cancer” as search criteria will find 3329 published papers (Ref.),  This research covers most types of cancers and uncovers the potential of curcumin to influence a wide range of human genes, major pathways in cancer, cell membrane, etc. leading to important anti cancer properties (Ref.). With this, Curcumin alone may kill cancer cells while also being chemosensitizer and radiosensitizer for tumors and chemoprotector and radioprotector for normal organs (Ref.).

Beyond cancer, Curcumin has multiple therapeutic actions including anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, thrombosuppressive, anti-arthritic, anti psoriasis. In addition, traditional Indian medicine has considered curcumin a drug effective for various respiratory conditions (asthma, bronchial hyperactivity, and allergy) as well as for other disorders including anorexia, coryza, cough, and sinusitis. (Ref.)

Curcumin mechanismsDue to the huge range of anti cancer mechanism connected to Curcumin, I am not going to start discussing them as it will probably take forever. Instead, I will focus on its application and to highlight its action I will just use pictures such as the one below from the enclosed reference (Ref.). This clearly indicates a wide range of activity of Curcumin.

Nevertheless, even this picture it only covers a little from what has been so far experimentally demonstrated that Curcumin can do. When reading the literature, it feels like Curcumin can address ANY problem, from bone disorders (Ref.) to brain challenges (Ref.). Due to this fact, I would consider Curcumin as a part of any anti cancer treatment protocol.

Curcumin downregulates cellular protein synthesis, and induces autophagy, lysosomal activation and increased ROS production, thus leading to cell death – mTOR inhibitor (ref.)

Curcumin inhibits glyoxalase 1: a possible link to its anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activity. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18946510 This may be one of the very relevant mechanism of Curcumin and due to thsi property it may make sense to combine Curcumine with most pro-oxidant treatment approaches including Chemo, 3BP or Methylglyoxal.

Personal experience:

Next to the oral version, we have had Curcumin IV from time to time, for nearly two years, and we have a very positive feeling about it. During and after the IV we typically experience pain at the tumor site. Tremour has also been reported to take place for about 30min after the IV. This is probably present in about 50% of patients using Curcumin IV from what I understand. It is not yet clear what is the origin of the tremor but it is believed to be connected to the rise of uric acid as a result of the tumor lysis effect.

Many German doctors are “in love” with Curcumin IV.

Toxicity:

“The first phase I clinical trial to test the toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and biological effective dose of curcumin was carried out by Cheng et al., in 2001 [292]. Twenty-five patients who had either one of the following pre-malignant high cancer risk conditions were included: urinary bladder cancer, arsenic Bowen’s disease of skin, uterine cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN), oral leukoplakia, and intestinal metaplasia of the stomach. An escalating oral dose of 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, and 12,000 mg was tried and treatment-related toxicity was not observed up to 8000 mg/day. Higher doses were found to be unacceptable to the patients, primarily due to bulky volume of the drug. Peak serum curcumin concentration was reached 1–2 h after intake, while it was undetectable in urine.” Ref.

Bio availability & Pharmacokinetics:

It has been found that 10 mg/kg of curcumin given intravenous in rats gave a maximum serum curcumin level of 0.36 µg/mL, whereas a 50-fold higher curcumin dose administered orally gave only 0.06±0.01 µg/mL maximum serum level in rat. (Ref.)

Indeed, it is well known that the bio-availability of orally administrated Curcumin is very low. However, the clinical trials discussed below indicate that 2g to 12g of Curcumin administrated orally to humans can lead to anti cancer effects.

Scientists are currently investigating various ways to increase Curcumin bio availability. One of the most simple and effective ways to increase the bio availability in humans is by co administration with another plant extract, i.e. piperine: “In humans, curcumin bioavailability was increased by 2,000% at 45 minutes after co-administering curcumin orally with piperine” (Ref.)

Once administrated, Curcumin is absorbed differently in Blood, Liver, Brain, Kidney, and Other Organs http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3918523/figure/F3/

Clinical trials on humans:

Summary of clinical trials with curcumin in various cancers: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/20/2/2728/htm

Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic study of oral Curcuma extract in patients with colorectal cancer: Radiologically stable disease was demonstrated in five patients for 2-4 months of treatment at doses between 440 and 2200 mg/day.

Combination treatment with curcumin and quercetin of adenomas in familial adenomatous polyposis: The combination of curcumin and quercetin appears to reduce the number and size of ileal and rectal adenomas in patients with FAP without appreciable toxicity. Randomized controlled trials are needed to validate these findings.

Phase II trial of curcumin in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.: Two patients showed clinical biological activity. One had ongoing stable disease for >18 months; interestingly, one additional patient had a brief, but marked, tumor regression (73%) accompanied by significant increases (4- to 35-fold) in serum cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-1 receptor antagonists). No toxicities were observed.

Administration and Dose:

A very helpful blog to read with a good amount of info on the use of oral and topical curcumin is here http://margaret.healthblogs.org

Oral administration: 30 to 60 min before food with a glass of water, 2 to 3x/day, 1-4g each time (leading to a total of 3 to 12g/day). Adding some oil (e.g. olive oil capsules and/or Nigella Dativa and/or fish oil) will help the absorption. If it doesn’t have already Piperine inside than add a small amount of black paper powder or Piperine capsule (like this one).

Oral administration has been shown to provide some benefit, but absorption and distribution kinetics do not always allow maximal benefit.

Topical administration:

Option 1:  The origin of this formulation is coming from a recent article sating the following: “We have developed a curcumin-based vaginal cream, which effectively eradicates HPV(+)cancer cells and does not affect non-cancerous tissue. Our preclinical data support a novel approach for thetreatment of cervical HPV infection” Ref The formulation used was: “Intravaginal formulation containing 2%, 5%, 10% and 20% (w/w) curcumin were prepared by mixing curcumin powder with a com-mercially available topical oil-in-water cream base called Vanicream (Pharmaceutical Specialties, Inc., Rochester, MN). Our tests showed that 5 g of Vacurin occupied a volumeof 5 ml. Therefore, in the rest of this report, we have expressed the concentrations of curcumin in Vacurin as 20% (w/v). The two compo-nents were thoroughly mixed using a spatula…”

Option 2: Here is another formulation from a different article: “Curcumin C3 Complex (>98% pure) was obtained from Sabinsa Corp. In vivo studies were conducted with curcumin (15 mg) suspended in a vanishing cream paste (15 mg/100 μL cream) for topical administration provided by our study compounding pharmacist (DB).” Ref.

IV administration: 150-400mg/m2 in 250 to 1000ml NaCl 0,9% during one to two hours, 2-4x/week, administrated via either a central or peripheral line.

Notes:

  • there are various forms of Curcumin for IV. If it contains Kolliphor than the IV has to be administrated in PVC free IV set or using a 0.2 um inline filter system to avoid the typical allergic reaction. In case Kolliphor is present, some clinics are administrating prior to the first IV the following mixture to avoid allergy: in 100 ml NaCl 0,9% add Fenistil 8 mg + Ranitidin 50mg + Dexamethason 8mg + Ondansetron 8mg
  • some clinics in Germany are mixing Curcumin with DMSO (2 to 10ml) in the same NaCl bottle for increased effectivness. When that is done, the Curcumin dose is usually reduced to half of that administarted withouth DMSO.
  • No other additives should be mixed in the IV bag with the curcumin and carrier solution
  • Some are suggesting that oxidative treatments including IV Ascorbate over 20 grams should be separate by 24 hours

According to the following patent Curcumin IV can also be relatively easily prepared :

  •  http://www.google.com/patents/DE102012219219A1?cl=en in the following way:
    • Curcumin 150 mg are dissolved in 4 ml of absolute ethanol with stirring and heating to about 70 ° C. After 15 minutes, a clear dark yellow solution was formed.
    • In this solution, 34 mg of citric acid are dissolved in anhydrous form.
    • 25.88 g Kolliphor ELP are mixed with 12.37 g of absolute ethanol. With the mixture thus prepared, the Curcuminlösung prepared above is filled up to 10 ml.
    • The resulting solution is sterile filtered and autoclaved at 121 ° C.
    • This gives a storable pharmaceutical formulation containing curcumin in dissolved form.

Note: my idea was to use DMSO and not ethanol as suggested in the patent. This is because in order to get Curcumin soluble in ethanol there is a need to increase temperature to 75C (as suggested by the patent) while if we chose for the DMSO mixture, that  can be performed at room temperature. Note: I never prepared – is just an idea.

Another relevant patent on how to formulate Curcumin for intravenous administration is here https://patents.google.com/patent/EP3275430A1 This was actually a product used by German clinics until 2016 when CFB manufacturer (lead by dr. Fernando) was shut down due to unknown reasons.

Other formulation ideas from Dr. Mercola:

  • Make a microemulsion using raw curcumin powder. Combine one tablespoon of the powder with 1-2 egg yolks and a teaspoon or two of melted coconut oil. Use a high speed hand blender to emulsify it. Keep in mind that curcumin is a very potent yellow pigment that can permanently discolor surfaces, so take precautions to avoid “yellow kitchen syndrome.”
  • Boil the curcumin powder. Another strategy that can help increase absorption is to put one tablespoon of the curcumin powder into a quart of boiling water. It must be boiling when you add the powder as it will not work as well if you first put it in room temperature water and then heat the water and curcumin. After boiling it for 10 minutes you will have created a 12 percent solution that you can drink once cooled. It will have a woody taste. The curcumin will gradually fall out of solution however. In about six hours it will be down to a six percent solution, so it’s best to drink the water within four hours.

Source:

Oral: There are various sources each with the claim that it is the most bio-available. Meriva  seems to be one of the best source. We are using this one: http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-Best-Curcumin-C3-Complex-with-BioPerine-1000-mg-120-Tablets/12137 Also, I like Curcucell: https://www.essential-foods.de/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=626

We should make sure we use Curcumin (i.e. the extract from Turmeric) and not the Turmeric powder since Turmeric powder contains about 3.14% Curcumin only,  according to the following reference http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17044766

IV: there are several German pharmacies providing the IV form:

Other references:

Curcumin Sensitizes Silymarin to Exert Synergistic Anticancer Activity in Colon Cancer Cells http://www.jcancer.org/v07p1250.htm

We studied combinatorial interactions of two phytochemicals, curcumin and silymarin, in their action against cancer cell proliferation. Curcumin is the major component of the spice turmeric. Silymarin is a bioactive component of milk thistle used as a protective supplement against liver disease. We studied antiproliferative effects of curcumin alone, silymarin alone and combinations of curcumin and silymarin using colon cancer cell lines (DLD-1, HCT116, LoVo). Curcumin inhibited colon cancer cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas silymarin showed significant inhibition only at the highest concentrations assessed. We found synergistic effects when colon cancer cells were treated with curcumin and silymarin together. The combination treatment led to inhibition of colon cancer cell proliferation and increased apoptosis compared to single compound treated cells. Combination treated cells exhibited marked cell rounding and membrane blebbing of apoptotic cells. Curcumin treated cells showed 3-fold more caspase3/7 activity whereas combination treated cells showed 5-fold more activity compared to control and silymarin treated cells. When DLD-1 cells were pre-exposed to curcumin, followed by treatment with silymarin, the cells underwent a high amount of cell death. The pre-exposure studies indicated curcumin sensitization of silymarin effect. Our results indicate that combinatorial treatments using phytochemicals are effective against colorectal cancer.

Therapeutic Roles of Curcumin: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535097/

Extensive research over the past half century has shown that curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a component of the golden spice turmeric (Curcuma longa), can modulate multiple cell signaling pathways. Extensive clinical trials over the past quarter century have addressed the pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of this nutraceutical against numerous diseases in humans. Some promising effects have been observed in patients with various pro-inflammatory diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, uveitis, ulcerative proctitis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel disease, tropical pancreatitis, peptic ulcer, gastric ulcer, idiopathic orbital inflammatory pseudotumor, oral lichen planus, gastric inflammation, vitiligo, psoriasis, acute coronary syndrome, atherosclerosis, diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic microangiopathy, lupus nephritis, renal conditions, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, β-thalassemia, biliary dyskinesia, Dejerine-Sottas disease, cholecystitis, and chronic bacterial prostatitis. Curcumin has also shown protection against hepatic conditions, chronic arsenic exposure, and alcohol intoxication. Dose-escalating studies have indicated the safety of curcumin at doses as high as 12 g/day over 3 months. Curcumin’s pleiotropic activities emanate from its ability to modulate numerous signaling molecules such as pro-inflammatory cytokines, apoptotic proteins, NF–κB, cyclooxygenase-2, 5-LOX, STAT3, C-reactive protein, prostaglandin E2, prostate-specific antigen, adhesion molecules, phosphorylase kinase, transforming growth factor-β, triglyceride, ET-1, creatinine, HO-1, AST, and ALT in human participants. In clinical trials, curcumin has been used either alone or in combination with other agents. Various formulations of curcumin, including nanoparticles, liposomal encapsulation, emulsions, capsules, tablets, and powder, have been examined. In this review, we discuss in detail the various human diseases in which the effect of curcumin has been investigated.

Disclaimer:

This site is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and linkages to other sites, I provide general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through linkages to other sites, is not a substitute for medical or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call consultation or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. I am not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information, services or product you obtain through this site. This is just my own personal opinion regarding what we have learned on this road.

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132 thoughts on “Curcumin: A Star in Cancer Treatment Field”

  2. Thank you. I was actually searching for that reference on the liver tumor that was strongly reduced following 8g/day Curcumin. I have seen it two years ago but could not find it anymore 🙂

    Regarding your question, it is not that straightforward. There are many studies indicating the synergy of Curcumin with chemo. However, on the other hand we “burned” ourselves a few months ago by combining antioxidants with pro-oxidants …. i.e. cancel out the pro oxidant effect. So, I would use Curcumin only if chemo alone seems not to be effective. Otherwise, I would stop the administration a few days before and after chemo. This is what I would do but I know conventional doctors in Germany who are actually combining chemo and radiation with Curcumin (and others) … while claiming improved results.

    1. The anti-oxidant and pro-oxidant roles of Curcumin depend on dose, also the effects are different for normal and cancer cells.
      Usually Curcumin enhances the oxidative stress induces by chemo in cancer cells and may protect some types of normal cells.

      1. Hi Ovidiu, this is why I do not like to combine during the same day: i.e. it can act as an antioxidant. And when making the serious effort to take chemo it doesn’t make sense to add risks unless we are sure the chemo is not effective. I specifically developed this view during the last months when we saw on CT how antioxidants can save the cancer cells under pro oxidant stress. Using it a few days after or before chemo should be fine. However, Curcumin alone can be effective too.

      2. Hello, I have an oxidative chemo and I would like to try Fenbedazole, perhaps with curcuma. You say that the anti-oxidant or pro-oxidant effect of Curcumin depend on dose and I have spent a lot of time to look for informations about the dosage. What are the dosage which “usually” Curcumin enhances/raises the oxidative stress and may protect some types or normal cells ? High dosage but how many mg ?
        I’ve read the answer of Daniel : I have also had the same problem as him : big problem with combination of an oxidative chemo and acide alpha-lipoique. And chemo seems to stay a lot of days in the body. Problem.
        Thank you (this site is wonderful).

        1. Hi Nathalie,

          Are u going to use curcuma intravenous or oral? In any case, using it several days after chemo should be fine in my view. Alpha lipoic acid is a very strong anti-oxidant that would not use in combo with chemo, indeed.

          Kind regards,
          Daniel

          1. Hello, Daniel, and thank you for your message.
            Oral curcumin, but with a problem because I have metronomic oral chemo (not exactly metronomic, but 2 weeks/ 3) and I’ve seen Melphalan stays a very long time in the body. It’s why I would like avoid problem with Melphalan, which is an oxidant chemo. Either I don’t take it or I try to use a big dose, oxidant, maybe more than 2000 mg. I don’t know. First, I will probably not take curcumin, only Fenbendazole and maybe Metformin at night. And if it doesn’t work, I will add curcumin.
            In 2015, I mixed Melphalan and Lipoid acid : tumor marker (CA 125) very increased, ascites etc.

    1. I see Santa and Sigma have various forms. I wouldn’t know which to order. Do you have a CAS# from your source? If I had that I would still face the problem I’m experiencing with Sal, finding a source of small quantities of anhydrous ethanol 200 proof 🙂

      I purchase whatever the current cheapest Longvida product through Amazon. many times it’s Curcubrain, 400mg tabs. I’ve been able to find it for less elsewhere but the sources tend to dry up. Amazon gets it to me tomorrow so I default to them.

        1. I have a naturopath friend. I’ll see if she can source “prepared” curcumin IV solution for me.

          I can find the ethanol only in cases (>5 gal.) Also, while the basic cost for that is less than $100, excise taxes, hazardous shipping fees, shipping fees etc. add on over $200. Costs and laws may be different on your side of the world.

            1. I finally located a large supplier of pure 200p non-denatured alcohol (who only stocked 5 gallon quantities) into ordering 100ml from SA and then shipping to me. Final cost was $125 which is still very high but that adventure is behind me. Procuring Sal was easy but all the other parts took weeks!

            1. “Pure turmeric powder had the highest curcumin concentration, averaging 3.14% by weight”, according to the following reference http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17044766
              I would guess that a spoon of turmeric is about 5g in total (maybe even less since the powder is relatively light). If only 3.14% of that is Curcumin, it means you take every day about 150mg Curcumin. This is 50x less compared to the average used in the clinical trials and compared to what cancer patients are using daily, i.e. about 8-9g/day.

  5. My husband will start tomorrow infusions with vit c, curcumine and quercitine and also taurolidine. Should there be some break between vit c and curcumine / quercitine?

    Thank you for your answer.

    1. Hi Ann, I am sorry to hear about your husband (Freddy?). May I know at what clinic you are going to have the treatment? We are using Quercetin first, 5 min break with saline, and after that Curcumin. Taurolidine sounds good as well. Please note that with a prescription from German doctor you may be able to get Taurolidine from your pharmacy in Belgium. I live in the Netherlands and here is possible too, with no cost – covered by the insurance. So you will only pay the administration in Germany.

  6. Hi Daniel, how you know my husband name if I can ask? Did we possibly meet?

    We are having treatment with dr kilarski. We could have taurolidine here from ogarnąć but that charge us 70 euro per bottle. And we need three per week.

    I have some small dubt about iv vit c together with curcumine as first acts pro -oxidatief and. C urcumine and quercitine as antioxidant. Have you some experience here. Can i reach you via email?

    1. Dear Ann, I would not be worried about Vit C and Quercetin. In IV form Quercetin can act as pro-oxidant. Curcumin is questionable so maybe use the other day. However, I would not mix with strong antioxidants such as Alpha Lipoic Acid IV, not even after 24 hours.

      We did not met before but I am a curious researcher 🙂 You can contact me at [email protected]

  8. Hi Daniel,

    There is a compounding pharmacy in USA called Park pharmacy or Imprimis Pharmacy (the same), they have curcumin IV 10mg/ml, i am a customer there, but sometimes they are out of stock, do you know if there are other pharmacies around the world that can provide curcumin IV?

    Thank you

    1. Hi Mireya,

      As I understand from your email, you are paying 39 USD per bottle 10mg/ml 10ml vial and in Harbor Mexico 40USD per bottle 5mg/ml 10ml vial.

      The German sources are:

      http://apotheke-koenigstein.de/ – containing Kolliphor
      http://cfb-eigenherstellung.de/ – not containing Kolliphor?
      http://www.curafaktur.de/ – not containing Kolliphor (this is the one we are using and is easier to administrate since it is not containing Kolliphor but this lab has a different model – the doctor is going to the lab and prepares the IV himself)

      Can you please let me know if you are using it and if you see any sign of effectiveness after using Imprimis source?

  9. Hi Daniel,

    Yes, we are using curcumin from both pharmacies and it is working very good. We have seen improvement after administration of it, 3 times a week per 3 weeks.

    Best regards

    1. Thanks Mireya. This can get very expensive since 100mg cost 40 USD. The material cost would be from 100 USD up to 1200 USD for one IV. Are there other IVs you tried from that pharmacy?

  12. Emad, in order to have a response from them you would need:
    1. to be a MD or pharmacist
    2. to trave to Germany in order to prepare your own IVs in their lab with their material
    That is their business model.

    As a private person you would need to order from the other two I mentioned. I would order from CFB since their product is easier to work with as it doesn’t have Kolliphor inside.

  13. Hi Daniel,

    Yes it is very expensive to administer up to 3gr.

    We started using high dosages of Curcumin 3gr IVs in 100mg vials, it means we use 30 vials in one IV for 4 hours. But i noticed the patients are reporting liver and lipids saturated. i checked the vials of imprimis and the exipients are vitamin E, glycerin and castor oil, it may be causing that.

    What dosages do you recommend as highest.

    1. Hi Mireya,

      I usually like to stay away from high doses of castor oil, and the quantity in so many vials may be very high. If I wold want to still use such high doses, I would use Curcumin that doesn’t contain castor oil such as this one http://cfb-eigenherstellung.de/. But I also suggest to try this source which has less curcumin but other curcuminoids as well as it is whole plant extract http://www.curafaktur.de/ The dose depends on the source and I never heard about using so high doses as you used. 🙂
      The highest recommended dose I came across was 450-500mg/m2.

  14. Hello Daniel

    we are going for Methylglyoxal for sure

    but due to our limited financial resource , we have only 2 options between those 2 to add with MG :

    1- Salinomycin : 2 IVs per month (1 IV = 0.2mg/kg)

    2- Curcumin : 400mg every week (for a patient weigh 75kg)

    (( we know that Salinomycin is stronger than Curcumin , but with these limited doses , I don’t know at all which one is better to spend our hard earned money on it ))

    I can’t ask you which one you recommend for me , but maybe I can ask you which one you will prefer for your self or a family member ^^

  15. My Mom is diagnosed with 3c stage ovarian Cancer and she is getting her treatment in http://www.icamwellcare.com/ (Dr Irfana Akhtar ) (India Bangalore )

    We need Curcumin Intravenous (extract from Turmeric) and It not available in India but there is a pharmacy in Ontario (York Downs Pharmacy) who is having this . but they want Canadain Doctor precipitation.

    So I need a help from a local Doctor who can talk to Indian Doctor and get that medicine on their behalf which I can take with me to India .

    So I want to Check If any can help me getting this medicine on behalf of Indian Doctor .

    Doctor from India can fulfil all requirements If anyone canget me this from any country to Order This Medicine on her Behalf

    I don’t have Much Time to obtain this medicine before I leave for India

    http://www.icamwellcare.com/ (Dr Irfana Akhtar ) (India Bangalore )
    +91 99002 66719

  16. Hi Daniel,
    How are you?I hope you are not ill and everything is fine.
    Take care of yourself and drink some collodial silver:)
    I tried 3 days ago for sinus infection.The disease gone.
    Also we begin collodial silver for mother today.
    Why i write here?
    I have found that curcumin is also a good angiogenesis inhibitor.
    And here is an article about difference between pure curcumin and the extracted by ethanol type.

    http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13880200802215826

    Kind Regards
    Ergin

    1. Hi Ergin,

      Thank you for your msg. This beginning of the year was full of events including traveling and various events that required my attention. I expect this will end at the end of this week so that in the weekend I can answer some your remarks on the Foundation and the question from Carl on the Foundation.
      Very nice article. Thanks for the link. I totally agree with the conclusion based on what I’ve seen: i.e. the ethanol (and water) extract is more active compared to pure curcumin. That was my conclusion as well after seeing the effects of the IV forms of the two. In Germany, there is a lab that is producing ethanol/water extract for IV but only doctors can access and they need to go there to “produce it” themselves. But I think, it is so easy to produce that you could easily build up a production site in Turkey.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

        1. Hi Ergin,

          Hormones are actually synthesized from cholesterol. One of the primary functions of nutritional lipids is actually hormone synthesis. Lipids do have a large influence in hormones and steroids (of which cholesterol is one) within the body.

          So you’re right. There’s a huge relationship between cholesterol and hormones.

            1. When I was diagnosed, my parents were in the drivers seat (I was 23 at diagnosis so quite young), and they had heard from friends that a vegan diet was best. So lost about 11-13lbs on that diet in the 6 months I was on it. Went from 163lbs to 149-152lbs. But I was eating fairly high sugar. Vegetable + fruit juices (juiced at home), potatoes, rice, breads (though they were kamut and spelt flour – not sure if that makes a difference). All in all, I wouldn’t call it healthy.

              After my major surgery, I went from 148lbs the night prior to surgery to 138lbs the day after surgery. Part of this was due to the physical amount of tissue removed (9-10 hour surgery; surgeon said they removed around 6lbs of tissue). And part was due to low amount of food post-operatively.

              I started eating whatever I wanted, including fast food and went back up to 148lbs. Then started keto and dropped to 138lbs again in about two weeks (2 days I fasted on barely any food to kick start ketosis).

              I dropped to about 133lbs each time I went on TACE, and went back up to 138lbs in the month following, then would drop back again after TACE, etc.

              I have now managed to climb back up to 146-148lbs using my own Keto weight gain protocol. I do eat an okay amount of meat and eggs, some cheese. But keep my protein to about 1g/kg, give or take 10-15g per day.

            3. Thank you very much for that elaborate reply.
              I’m getting a feeling that all this could be solved with optimized nutrition for the person/case upon blood tests.
              Maybe i am saying stupid things but i am getting a feeling that if the body would “steal” the resources from the cancer due to it’s requirements for them, than maybe we could deal with it.
              What if my mother’s body would actually use that nutrition before the cancer does eh?
              If i am closer to the truth here than it must mean that to heal from cancer we would need to accelerate metabolism of the normal cells.
              Since you are more informed in these things than me, i wonder what you think about all this.
              Thank you
              Alex

            4. The issue is that even when our body uses the nutrition prior to the cancer cell, it can still convert the macronutrients (in this case lipids or proteins), through normal bodily metabolism, into products that the cancer can use for its own devices.

              For example, if the body readily uses fatty acids prior to the cancer being able to use them, the net result from the normal metabolism of fatty acids by normal cells will still partially be cholesterol, which the cancer cell can use.

              It’s by this notion that I think it needs to be combined with other methods.

              For example, statins have shown a lot of promise in cancer treatment (particularly lipophilic as opposed to hydrophilic statins from what I’ve read). These can lower cholesterol levels, but also work in other ways against cancer cells.

              So I’m guessing combining a statin with the Keto diet would be more beneficial than just the diet alone.

              I’m of course not 100% sure of this but it would make sense to me.

            5. Hi Alex,

              There are people and treatments that use that kind of logic. I just found an article where people were fasting before/after chemo: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2815756/
              “Here we describe 10 cases in which patients diagnosed with a variety of malignancies had voluntarily fasted prior to (48-140 hours) and/or following (5-56 hours) chemotherapy. None of these patients, who received an average of 4 cycles of various chemotherapy drugs in combination with fasting, reported significant side effects caused by the fasting itself other than hunger and lightheadedness. Chemotherapy associated toxicity was graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The six patients who underwent chemotherapy with or without fasting reported a reduction in fatigue, weakness, and gastrointestinal side effects while fasting. In those patients whose cancer progression could be assessed, fasting did not prevent the chemotherapy-induced reduction of tumor volume or tumor markers. Although the 10 cases presented here suggest that fasting in combination with chemotherapy is feasible, safe, and has the potential to ameliorate side effects caused by chemotherapies, they are not meant to establish practice guidelines for patients undergoing chemotherapy.”

              Problem is, most cancer patients have lost already a lot of weight so cannot afford the “luxury” of making their cancer cells starve.

              I also read on a forum that there is a popular fasting method where you mustn’t eat any solid food for 42 days or so. However, the outcome was not particularly good for a woman with metastatic (to the bones) breast cancer. It is a dangerous gambling! It didn’t help her metastases, I remember.

            7. Thank you very much dear Helga for your priceless replies.
              Perhaps a combination of as many tricks as possible would lead to permanent remission, so i hope.
              Reduction of glucose, colesterol and other strategies, when combined would lead to a positive result

              I hope you’re doing well,
              Alex

        2. Hi Ergin,

          It might, it seems: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/79/topics/827489
          …
          Joined: Aug 2014
          Posts: 3,058
          Hopeful82014 wrote:

          Many sites suggest turmeric (or curcumin) may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, among other benefits. However, WebMD states:

          “Hormone-sensitive condition such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids: Turmeric might act like estrogen. If you have any condition that might be made worse by exposure to estrogen, don’t use turmeric.” However, I know several MDs who use it themselves….

          1. Dear Helga,
            Thats why i am afraiding to use curcumin,quercetin,artemisinin etc.
            Is the ovarian cancer totally different than others???
            In all treatments i see some results like this.
            Kind Regards
            Ergin

      2. Hi Daniel

        Ethanol extract is easy. 500 USD spent on soxhlet, distiller, and mixer/heater setup is enough for daily clinical dose extraction. Crude turmeric powder is about 9-10 USD per kg. Those who are short on money and taking Curcumin therapy can take an advantage from inhouse extraction (if they are not after specific form of curcumin).
        The only question is formulation for wholeplant extract (not pure Curcumin) for IV administration.
        It would be interested to try combined extract of curcumin and pepper.
        Regardnig IV Curcumin there is at least one doctor who offer such in Istanbul, but i couldn’t trust him.

        1. HI asafsh,

          Whole plant extract is given IV as is (after sterilisation). Could be extracted with ethanol+water or DMSO+water.
          A little more challenging is formulating pure Curcumin extract. Typically is done with kolliphor or castor oil – that is the easiest approach but not the best since castor oil (also used for Taxol) can give allergic reactions (which in order to manage requires extra drugs). These days we can find various formulations of Curcumin that do not include castor oil but e.g. polyvinilpyrilidone or similar. The pharmacies in Germany have multiple versions available now.

          Kind regards,
          Daniel

  17. Dear Alex (no link at the bottom of your msg),

    I have been ok, yesterday scored 156 in Dart in one round (2 triple 20-s and one triple 12) 🙂 We took a photo for the record. I recommend it to everyone, it is very uplifting and great fun. Plus, not too taxing on the body, so even most cancer patients can do it. I think it produces quite a bit of endorphin, at least we always leave in a much better mood than we were in at arrival.

    I am making my own fermented wheatgerm now. We found dry wheatgerm in our local shop. I add some baker’s yeast and water and put it on the radiator (dish put in a plastic container so not too much direct heat reaches the dish, not too hot) for a night. When the taste turns sour (from sweet) and bubbly (from the fermentation), it is ready to consume. I put it in the fridge when it is ready. And, yes, add some citric acid to stop the fermentation! 🙂 (with a wink to Dr. Alberto). It does work, try it!

    How have you been and your mom? Hope she is ok.
    Best wishes and Happy Easter,
    Helga

    3. Lovely 🙂
      My mother hasn’t been ok today, high blood pressure, pain and stabbing in the back and right breast, despite treatment.
      The bump on her arm fluctuates in size from day to day, today it’s been smaller.
      Managed to get her blood pressure lowered with in house tricks, hot water for the feet, lemon squeezed in mineral water and calming down, rest, they all helped.
      She’s been feeling great till today so she kinda abused it by doing work in the house and around it.
      If citric acid does inhibit fermentation it may reach the tumor in insufficient quantity, so i think.
      I’m thinking it may very much use a transporter such as DMSO to be applied to the skin, while also drinking it.
      Very glad you’re enjoying it there,
      I don’t know where you’re from but would love to get out and have a drink with you and everyone here.
      Most likely, i need a bottle of wine for me and a vacation far away from all these problems.
      Thankfully, there’s hope!

      Happy easter
      Take, care
      Alex

  18. CurQfen ® is a ‘new generation’ bioavailable curcumin, capable of providing ‘free’ curcuminoids into plasma and further into organ tissues with improved BLOOD-BRAIN-BARRIER permeability (Journal of Functional Foods, 2015, 14, 215).
    Various animal and human studies have also demonstrated ‘free’ curcuminoids bioavailability (45.5-fold), pharmacokinetics, relative distribution of ‘free’ curcuminoids (>70%) (Journal of Functional Foods, 2016, 22, 578).
    http://akay-group.com/spiceuticals_products/

    Enhanced bioavailability and relative distribution of free (unconjugated) curcuminoids following the oral administration of a food-grade formulation with fenugreek dietary fibre: A randomised double-blind crossover study.
    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464616000426

    Swanson Superior Herbs Controlled Release CurQfen Curcumin/Fenugreek Complex.
    https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-superior-herbs-controlled-release-curqfen-60-veg-caps

  19. I have very interesting findings about curcumin.
    It makes intracellular glutathione levels very high like a powerful antioxidant.
    But it is synergetic with chemo.

  20. Hello, is there any knowledge about fresh curcuma an it`s bio availability and application?
    I got a product written: each cps contains 340mg extract from curcuma longa with at least 95% curcuminoides, 50mg Cholin and 5mg piperine. Is that, what is recommended orally?
    Thank you. Katja

    1. Hi Katja,

      Bio availability of curcumin is low, below 10% usually. Indeed taken with piperine and fat is expected to help increase the absorption. The dose expect to lead to high enough plasma level is in the range of several grams/day. This could be a good option https://nl.iherb.com/pr/doctor-s-best-high-absorption-curcumin-with-c3-complex-and-bioperine-1-000-mg-120-tablets/12137
      Liposomal Curcumin may also be an option to try.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

    1. Dear Immanuel,

      Thank you for your comment. I check shortly. It is not developed by Frauenhofer Institute but by Oncotrition which is a spin-off from the institute (like many other spin-offs). So I would not consider that very special. In addition, to my understanding this type of curcumin (micellar formulation) was created by another company Aquanova Ag https://www.google.com/patents/WO2014094921A1?cl=en and not by Oncotrition (since non of Oncotrion associated authors in this list http://www.oncotrition.com/index.php/de/publikationen are the same with the author of the patent). Also, there seems to be more providers for this type of curcumin.

      In general, there are many claims and debates around the best formulation of Curcumin oral and even IV. So what I would do is to use various forms in cycles and see which one you feel contributes the best to your health. Regardless of the claims of the providers, I would use high dose for active disease, as discussed in my post.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

            2. Dear Ergin,

              I am sad to see how fast you forget the help of others and how fast you turn the hard work of others into your tresh bin. From your previous comment I understand you are drinking during the night and than start writing here. Thats is a pitty. I will moderate your previous comments where appropiate. As you requested, I will switch of the post that was initiated at your request. Normaly I shoudl not do that, since a lot of people worked had doing research for you and sharing their findings there. However, I respect your request and will close your page. I wish you all the best in your life.

              Kind regards,
              Daniel

            3. Daniel- as usual you are an example of integrity and wisdom _/\_ . My highest wishes for you and the labor of love that is this website. -Shanti

            4. Dear Shanti, your comment is extremely helpful. Thank you!
              I will need to “process” this experience with Ergin and decide what the best way forward is, to avoid anything like this happening again.

              Kind regards,
              Daniel

  23. The latest info on oral formulations of Curcumin, unfortunately the full article is not yet free, so I copy here just the abstract.
    Bioavailable curcumin formulations: A review of pharmacokinetic studies in healthy volunteers. PMID: 30006023
    Curcumin is a widely studied natural compound which has shown tremendous in vitro therapeutic potential. Despite that, the clinical efficacy of the native curcumin is weak due to its low bioavailability and high metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract. During the last decade, researchers have come up with different formulations with a focus on improving the bioavailability of curcumin. As a result, a significant number of bioavailable curcumin-based formulations were introduced with the varying range of enhanced bioavailability. The purpose of this review is to collate the published clinical studies of curcumin products with improved bioavailability over conventional (unformulated) curcumin. Based on the literature search, 11 curcumin formulations with available human bioavailability and pharmacokinetics data were included in this review. Further, the data on clinical study design, analytical method, pharmacokinetic parameters and other relevant details of each formulation were extracted. Based on a review of these studies, it is evident that better bioavailability of formulated curcumin products is mostly attributed to improved solubility, stability, and possibly low first-pass metabolism. The review hopes to provide a quick reference guide for anyone looking information on these bioavailable curcumin formulations. Based on the published reports, NovaSol® (185), CurcuWin® (136) and LongVida® (100) exhibited over 100-fold higher bioavailability relative to reference unformulated curcumin. Suggested mechanisms accounting for improved bioavailability of the formulations and details on the bioanalysis methods are also discussed.

  24. Dear Daniel & friends,

    Hi, I just came across the following info, so would like to share & then get comment about it:

    https://pureprescriptions.com/scientific-study-reveals-the-best-curcumin-product/

    7. Curcumin Formulated with BioPerine®
    In a clinical study conducted in 1998 on healthy volunteers, it was found that BioPerine® can increase the bioavailability of curcuminoids by 20 folds26.
    This increase was measured for the Curcumin itself and not for its phase II metabolites.
    One of the reasons for this finding comes from the fact that the BioPerine® consists of piperine which is known to inhibit the formation of phase II metabolites because of glucuronidation.
    Piperine reduces glucuronidation by inhibition of UDP- glucuronyl transferase activity and by lowering the levels of endogenous glucuronic acid.
    Curcumin has tendency to undergo rapid biotransformation, its conversion in particular to Phase II metabolism is often seen as detrimental to bioactivity.
    BioPerine® helps in inhibiting the formation of phase II metabolites of Curcumin27

    CONCLUSION
    Discussion on curcumin’s bioavailability is not complete without discussion on its metabolites.
    All the metabolites of Curcumin are not alike and hence increasing the bioavailability of phase II metabolites is not of any biological significance as we see in many of the formulations discussed above.
    We also see shrinking dosage of the Curcumin advised by many formulators based on higher – amount of presumed bioavailability.
    This is not a healthy approach as these formulations are merely increasing the biologically insignificant phase II metabolites rather than increasing the active metabolites or Curcumin itself.
    Today we know about the curcumin’s metabolic fate much better and this knowledge on its metabolites should be considered in any discussion on bioavailability to have a constructive approach on improving curcumin’s functionality.

    Thanks!
    Kimster

    1. Hi Kimster,

      I think this is a nice article, but of course it has a bias towards the product they selected to sell. However, I like the products that are pure curcumin + piperine that they recommend (which I see as the good old type of product). But of course we should also try to take advantage of the technology developments (such as formulations based on liposome or cyclodextrin). This is why, I would use the 80/20 rule and do the following:
      – 80% of the daily dose I would use pure curcumin+piperine
      – 20% of the daily dose I would include one formulation that claims much higher bio-availability
      In this way, I know I have the formulation that will lead to fair absorption, and another product that may do much more than that. But if it doesn’t as promised by the manufacturer, than at least I have the base product which is 80% of the daily dose.
      I hope this makes sens.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

      1. Dear Daniel,

        Thank you very much for your sharing of 80/20 rule suggestion.

        Just mainly focused on understanding the content of the article, not their product as expected the bias.

        There are other similar supplement products in the market, so there are some options.
        – like what you previously suggested:
        https://my.iherb.com/pr/doctor-s-best-high-absorption-curcumin-with-c3-complex-and-bioperine-1-000-mg-120-tablets/12137

        Thanks!
        Kimster

    2. Hi Kimster,

      I’ve struggled with that same question for quite a while, which curcumun product do I take/or recommmend, based on the current scientific studies and information. The C3® formulas with biopeperine are good products. I think that Dieneke Ferguson, who cured her blood cancer with only curcumin used C3. But she didn’t only take the pills she tried all sorts of concoctions, in fact that’s how she started, trying to increase absorption. And she used a proper dose, 8 grams and moren daily. I think the protocol she used was to start with 1gram for a week and then increase by another gram each week until she reached 8grams. Having looked at many products my preference is a mix of C3, and a few of the best nanoformulations(BioCurc®,CurcuWin®,Longvida®,CAVACURMIN®,TetraCumin-QR), and use some tumeric in food or teas.Also, curcumin’s healing potential may be enhanced in combination with other compounds like EGCG, Berberine, Boswellia, Garcinol, Tinospora cordifolia, Black cumin seed, Ascorbic acid.

      1. Dear johan,

        Thank you very much for your info sharing – really learnt more about Curcumin from your sharing!

        There are many supplement product options in the market, so trying to read more to understand more about Curcumin.

        Thanks!
        Kimster

      2. Dear Daniel & johan,

        Hi, I also came across the following info about “Free Form” Curcumin:

        https://www.luminnovahealth.com/blog/2019/3/11/are-you-really-getting-the-benefit-you-expect-from-your-curcumin-tumeric-supplement

        SOME CURCUMIN FORMULATIONS POTENTIALLY RISKY
        Not only are many of the other formulations far inferior in terms of providing viable levels of free active curcumin, some of the curcumin formulations utilize means of increasing absorption or reducing liver conjugation that may actually pose a health risk:

        Q: Piperine might pose a health RISK?
        – based on info from this article.

        https://aor.ca/setting-the-record-straight/
        However, this is not to say that many of the curcumin formulas on the market don’t work.
        They do, and many have excellent ingredients and well-designed studies to boot; they are just not as effective, fast acting and long lasting as Free Form.
        Simple as that.

        Consequently, these formulas literally miss the mark with their claims to higher absorbability/bioavailability because they are producing conjugated curcumin–not Free Form, irrespective of how much better absorbed each formula is.
        So although more curcumin is absorbed, it is in a form that is less active; therefore, less therapeutic which inevitably results in a less effective product.

        Thanks!
        Kimster

          1. Dear Johan,

            Thank you very much for your info sharing – well understood about the bias & your good recommendation of a mix of curcumin products, including turmeric as food along.

            About BioCurc, is this Curcumin 400x the option?
            https://www.simplynutrients.com/Curcumin-400x-p6302.html
            – In fact, 400 mg of BioCurc® is equal to 2,000,000 mg of turmeric and 45,000 mg of 95% curcumin extracts.

            Q: So would this info imply that only need to take one(1) 400mg softgel for each day if its effect is about 45,000 mg of 95% curcumin extracts?

            For example, follow Daniel’s 80/20 + your good recommendation:
            80%: C3 with Piperine — minimum how many grams would you suggest?
            20%: BioCurc (400mg x1/day) + turmeric food (with black pepper)

            BioCurc, such as Curcumin 400x, is quite costly so might not be able to take more daily.
            Or have to look for more affordable alternative option.

            PS: Just noticed this blog website, so would try to read the invaluable info shared in this website:
            http://anticancersupplements.blogspot.com/p/about.html

            Thanks!
            Kimster

            1. You’re welcome, Kimster!
              The NutriDyn product indeed have the BioCurc formula. I like the curcumin combo you propose, the C3 I’d build up the dosage gradually starting at 1gram a day for a week, and increasing with an extra gram weekly, up to 4 grams if there are no side effects. I recommend reading Margeret’s blog, she’s has a wealth of information on curcumin, she has many posts on curcumin, this one is a good place to start: https://margaret.healthblogs.org/life-with-myeloma/discovery-of-curcumin/my-curcumin-protocol/

              That’s indeed my blog, I try to look for synergies, often the science to back it up is very thin but hopefully you find some value in the information.

          2. Hi Johan,

            The paper you shared is a nice one as it presents an overview of the data from other products. Very helpful.

            The only point we have to have in mind is that this paper was written by consultants to the company producing BioCurc (see the conflict of interest statement at the end of the paper). So it is difficult to conclude on BioCurc, as this paper can also be seen as marketing material.

            Here is another paper that has no conflicts of interest, reviewing different formulations. While it was published one year latter compared to the BioCurc paper above, interestingly, it is not including BioCurc https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095496418300773?via%3Dihub#!
            Here is a version that is available to read.

            I guess every new formulation will try to demonstrate that is better than the previous formulations. This is why I would stick to the basic formulation (curcumin+piperine) and add one other source that I trust and that is known to use a formulation that is likely to increase absorption (such as micelles, liposomal, polyvinyl pyrrolidine, etc.). If the additional improved formulation is too expensive to be able to use the 80/20 rule, I would just change it to 90/10.

            Kind regards,
            Daniel

            2. Dear Johan & Daniel,

              Thank you very much for the continuous info sharing!

              For Johan,
              Already started to read Margeret’s blog to learn more about her experience on consuming CUR – thanks for sharing!

              Thank you very much for sharing the synergy info – certainly found & learning invaluable info from your great blog!

              Thanks!
              Kimster

    1. Hi Asafsh,

      I am not aware of intra-tumoral application.
      For topical application it can be easily formulated with DMSO. Of course the issue with Curcumin is it’s colour that may be a little challenging to mange and not turn yourself in to a yellow man 🙂
      For Nasal administration, liposomal formulations would be best but those have to be of pharmaceutical quality. On that, you could check with Manuel offline and he may be able to indicate a good manufacturer. However, you have to realise that developing such a formulation will cost probably in the range of several 000 euro/usd.

      Kin regards,
      Daniel

      1. Dear Daniel

        Thank you for answers. Really appreciate it.
        Preferably, it is better to wear color of The Beatles’s submarine than be dead black in coffin 🙂

        Regarding zeros, since i took my caregiver’s role i saw so many of them against only few on my bank account. But that is life and i don’t (at least try to not to) complain. Kindly, please apologize me for unnecessary rhetoric.

        About liposomes, is the relative bioavailability gain up to 448% can justify trouble of paying more when the tumor is somewhat accessible? Won’t just adding few drops more will do the same trick?
        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573051/

        Kind Regards

        Asaf

      1. Dear Johan

        Thank you, that is very interesting.
        i saw few articles before for mouse inhalation. btw, modern cheap drug inhalators are ultrasonic based, and atomize liquids easily. Daniel mentioned similar device before in answer to my question.
        may be proper dilution to target viscosity and surface tension should be done before trying these.

        Kind Regards

  26. Dear Johan,

    Hi, since you know & share more about synergy info, so would like your comment for the following info:

    I just came across the following info:

    BOOK:
    Power Spicing: 60 Simple Recipes for Antioxidant-Fueled Meals and a Healthy Body: A Cookbook

    Page 39:
    Synergistic Action:

    Cacao + Turmeric = Stronger inhibition of cancer cell growth

    Cacao + Cayenne = Promote cancer cell death

    Cayenne + Matcha = Ten times greater inhibition of cancer cell growth

    Cayenne (with Capsaicin) + Matcha (with EGCG) = Could be effective?
    – Maybe just compared their Synergistic effect vs Alone effect?

    Q: Any comment about the above info?

    Thanks!
    Kimster

    1. Hi Kimster, great to see you’re looking into synergies!

      Indeed, regarding matcha + cayenne, this study says “Catechin-vanilloid combinations are 10 to 100 times more effective than either catechins or vanilloids alone” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16608395

      Cacao has many health benefits, it has high amounts of Theobromine(highest amounts in dutch cacao), a strong inhibitor of angiogenesis; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9468592

      Great find!

      Best,

      Johan

      1. Dear Johan,

        Thank you very much for your reply with the info!

        I noticed this older info from year 2003:
        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12906756

        We have demonstrated a synergy between a decaffeinated green tea concentrate and a vanilloid-containing Capsicum preparation obtained commercially.
        At a ratio of 25 parts green tea concentrate to 1 part Capsicum preparation, the resultant product exhibited efficacy in the killing of cancer cells in culture 100-times that of green tea on a weight basis.
        These studies were guided by assays of the putative catechin-vanilloid target protein tNOX, a cell surface growth-related enzymatic activity specific to cancer.
        The activity of the protein target was inhibited by the tea catechins and the Capsicum vanilloids.
        As with growth, the tea and Capsicum preparations evaluated were synergistic in their inhibition of the target enzymatic activity.

        Q: Any idea to share about the preparation?
        How to prepare the “ratio of 25 parts green tea concentrate to 1 part Capsicum”?
        – And to avoid a low dose capsaicin, which promoted metastasis of colonic cancer, as explained from the following:

        http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/36/3/837.full
        however, the effect on carcinogenesis remains controversial due to conflicting results in epidemiological and basic research studies.
        However, capsaicin may act as a carcinogen or co-carcinogen

        Capsaicin and Metastasis
        However, a low dose of capsaicin promoted metastasis of colonic cancer

        Thanks!
        Kimster

        1. The dreaded bi-phasic effect! One the one hand you have this synergy with green tea extract, which is especially usefull in colon cancer, yet the compound that produces the synergy has this bi-phasic action on colon cancer cells. In the study you mention, the “low” dose doesn’t appear that low. How much cayenne you’d have to consume to get to that dose?

          “Few studies have evaluated the clinical pharmacokinetics of orally administered capsaicin.6 After acute ingestion of 5 g of a capsaicin-rich hot pepper extract, a peak serum capsaicin level of 8.2 nM was observed after 45 min; an hour later, capsaicin was no longer detectible, presumably owing to rapid hepatic metabolism.7 In mice given a bolus dose of 10 mg/kg capsaicin—far higher than humans could be expected to use—the peak serum concentration was about 3 µM; after 8 h, capsaicin was undetectable in serum. It is therefore reasonable to expect that clinically tolerable intakes of capsaicin will achieve serum concentrations in the nanomolar range. Although capsaicin can inhibit certain voltage-sensitive calcium channels with an EC50 of 5 µM or higher,8 9 it does not appear likely that this effect would be germane with feasible oral intakes of capsaicin in humans.”

          1. Dear Johan,

            Just noticed this BOOK with some further info:
            ECTO-NOX Proteins: Growth, Cancer, and AgingBy D. James Morré, Dorothy M. Morré

            Page 396~400
            Google Books has preview for few of these pages.

            New February 2020 Paper info:
            Evaluation of the Anti-Proliferative Effects of a Green Tea and Capsicum Powder Extract in Cancer Cell Lines
            https://m.scirp.org/papers/98397

            Also noticed OTHER Info:
            Super Cancer-Killer – Capsicum and Green Tea
            https://breastcancerconqueror.com/super-cancer-killer-capsicum-and-green-tea/

            Please continue to comment accordingly.

            Thanks!
            Kimster

          2. Hi Johan and Kimster

            Thank you for great discussion.
            meanwhile , what is interesting – the article that refers to cancerogenic action of low dose capsaicin says that
            (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23581408?dopt=Abstract):
            “Finally, we showed that capsaicin-induced metastasis of CRC cells was mediated by modulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) production”
            Does that mean we can use “low dose” capsaicin as pro-oxidant supplement for the chemotherapy to enhance latter?
            I remember from Daniel’s article he was proposing pro-oxidant along with chemotherapy to make it more effective.
            For sure, its pharmacology must be studied for possible negative interaction with chemo drugs.

            Btw, i am curious about how did they manage to do “acute ingestion of 5 g of a capsaicin-rich hot pepper extract”?

            Kind Regards

            Asasf

  27. Great research, Kimster! Although there’s clearly synergy at work, it can go both ways depending on the concentration achieved and the cancer cell line. No doubt it will also differ from one individual to another. Because of this I’d probably not use the CAPSOL-T product, but that’s just my opinion. I’d opt for the other options we discussed to enhance egcg.

    1. Dear Johan,

      Thank you very much for your reply again with your opinions!

      So safer to choose other synergy options, not Cayenne (Capsaicin), for enhancing EGCG.

      Tried to read your “Micronutrient Synergies” info, but if not mistaken, did not notice the combination of:
      Curcumin + Apigenin

      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23485682
      Apigenin shows synergistic anticancer activity with curcumin by binding at different sites of tubulin.
      The synergistic activity of apigenin and curcumin was also apparent from their strong depolymerizing effects on interphase microtubules and inhibitory effect of reassembly of cold depolymerized microtubules when used in combinations, indicating that these ligands bind to tubulin at different sites.

      Other Info:
      https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/2/25/1586
      The Effects of Apigenin and Curcumin on Autophagy Related Cell Death and Apoptosis†

      https://patents.google.com/patent/KR101803000B1/en
      Pharmaceutical compositions for preventing or treating lung cancer comprising apigenin, curcumin, and honokiol as active ingredients

      Please continue to comment accordingly.

      Thanks!
      Kimster

      1. Hi Kimster, i’ll update the blog with the information you shared here, thank you very much. Curcumin and Honokiol are some of my favorite anticancer supplements and seeing the synergy between both and with apigenin is really fantastic. Thanks again for sharing!

          1. Hi Kimster,
            Thank you so much for sharing! I really like the curcumin and ginger combination, I know of someone who ‘s convinced he cured his glioblastoma with curcumin, ginger and garlic, loads of it 🙂

            Best,

            Johan

  29. There is a lot of good discussion above around the various options to enhance bio-availability of curcumin. Two of the options stand out to me as being reasonably effective and cheap:
    1) combine with black pepper extract (i.e. Curcumin C3 with BioPerine) – allegedly increases bioavailability by 20x
    2) boiling 95% curcumin extract for 15min – allegedly increases bioavailability by 12x (one study quoted many times)

    Just curious to see what everyone’s thoughts are about combining these two methods above. I haven’t managed to find any literature specifically discussing this combo option, but I’m wondering whether boiling the capsules may compromise the properties of either curcumin or BioPerine, and whether this task is worth performing on a daily basis. Thoughts?

    1. Hi Jun,

      Indeed, boiling Curcumin helps with water solubility and bio-availability but it seems that above temperatures such as 50C it starts to partially degrade https://applications.emro.who.int/imemrf/Pak_J_Pharm_Sci/Pak_J_Pharm_Sci_2015_28_Supp_1_299_305.pdf
      Fig 2 here https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2015/fo/c4fo00790e shows the various steps Curcumin goes through due to temperature.

      Therefore boiling Curcumin/Turmeric has advantages and disadvantages:
      – advantage is increasing bio-availability
      – disadvantage is reducing the amount of Curcumin as it degrades with higher temperatures more and more

      I mentioned that a clinic I am in contact with will these the bio-availability of different types of curcumin and I will mention the boiled version as one that would help if it would be tested as well (e.g. 3g C3 boiled vs not boiled, or whatever other version they want to test).

      Kind regards,
      daniel

      1. Hi Daniel

        Thanks for the links to the studies. It’s clear from the studies that the degradation of curcumin starts at 50C, so boiling in water will certain have surpassed that threshold. What’s interesting is the discussion around the anti-cancer mechanisms of the degraded metabolites, although it’s probably safe to assume that there is significantly more scientific literature around the benefits of pure curcumin compared with its metabolites.

        Please keep us in the loop if there are results that will be released from the clinic testing the bio-availability of different curcumin supplements. As you are aware, there are currently many curcumin formulations that claim significant improvement in bio-availability compared to standard curcumin powder, such as a few of the below:
        – C3 Complex concentrated extract
        – Liposomal
        – Liquid droplet micromicellar
        – cyclodextrin nanoformulation
        – Many others…
        I will be very interested to find out which curcumin formulation objectively provides the most value for money in terms of human absorption of free (unconjugated) curcuminoids.

        At the moment, most “regular” brands of curcumin come formulated with BioPerine anyway, and this supposedly increases bioavailability by 20x. One example is Bioglan Double Strength Curcumin, available in most Aus pharmacies: https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/84164/bioglan-curcumin-double-strength-1200mg-40-tablets

        My question is, are the more fancy formulations of curcumin (e.g. C3, Liposomal, Biocurc, Theracurmin, Meriva, MicroActive) actually more bio-available given:
        – All the comparisons are made against standard curcumin WITHOUT BioPerine
        – The concentration of curcuminoids in each serving is orders of magnitude less than Bioglan (with the exception of C3)

        As an example, MicroActive curcumin claims 10x more bio-availability than regular curcumin, and has 500mg tumeric root extract, 25% curcuminoids (i.e. 125mg). This suggests that not only is the bio-availability less than standard BioPerine formulation according to research, it contains 10x less curcuminoids per capsule as well.
        https://www.amazon.com.au/Curcumin-SR-Quality-Life-Labs-VCaps/dp/B00LEZEWCW

        …or is there a flaw in my logic somewhere?

        1. HI Jun,

          Indeed, when it comes to claims of companies is a jungle of claims. It reminds me of a company claiming they have the largest market share in their market, but when you were looking and asking the details you would find out that they were considering only a small segment in which they ere active, and in that context they were the largest. This are the tricks many are using. This is why we need unbiased views. At MCS Formulas we selected Curcumin C3 because that is the one we believe in the most until this point. If any other version would come out better, we will of course switch to that. I will keep you up to date as soon as I have a view on the results. Bioglan Double Strength Curcumin also looks good indeed.

          Kind regards,
          Daniel

        2. There’s no flaw in your logic. So you need to look closely at how many curcuminoids are in a product and the type of formulation with its claims of bioavailability. The C3 complex doesn’t influence bioactivity but provides a high standardized amount of curcuminoids. It’s the piperine in this type of formulation that helps improve bioavailability, by 3x to 20x(quite a big range)

          For example:

          Now Foods, Curcumin usd30 for 120 caps (630mg curcumin extract) 75,6 grams or almost usd0,40 per gram, to increase bioavailability you’d take this with some pepper (approx 60mg).
          Doctor’s Best, USD 53 for 120 caps C3 with BioPerine ( 950mg extract) 114 grams or a little over usd0,46 per gram but with the convenience of the added Bioperine.

          Considering you can buy black pepper for say 10 cents a gram, the NOWfoods product would be a little cheaper in this comparison, for the same amount of extract and similar bioavailability (if you’d take the NOWfoods product with a little pepper, for example with meals.)

          Bioavailibility for piperine enhanced curcumin is 11.5X (average of 3x to 20x claims)
          Doctor’s Best c3
          1 gram = 11,5 grams or USD 0,04 per (theoretical) gram

          Let’s compare with a special formula
          Curcuwin, usd60 for 120 caps, providing 12 grams of extract, or usd5 per gram
          Bioavailability claims are 46X
          1gram=46grams or almost usd0,11 per (theoretical) gram

          So that’s more expensive, but you do have extra Tumeric in this formulation and fewer pills to take.

          BioCurc® claims are much higher (400-fold)

          1. Thank you for both of your feedback, I really do appreciate your thoughts and insights.

            The following publication on BioCurc provides a table that collates the bio-availabilities of many of the special formulations for ease of comparison, with references to the underlying study papers (the table is on page 6):
            Reference

            I agree with Daniel that there’s always an element of doubt when reviewing studies sponsored by the company manufacturing the special formulation. As an example, the publication above explores the bioavailability of BioCurc and makes the conclusion that it is 400-fold more potent than regular curcumin. If you look at the table on page 6, the first row details the Cmax and AUC for the control dose of 400mg 95% curcuminoid in that particular study, both of which are very low values. The second row details the Cmax and AUC for the control dose of 400mg 95% curcuminoid for another study (CurQfen), where the Cmax and AUC values are over 10x that of the BioCurc study. It’s not immediately clear to me why there is such a huge discrepancy, but if the control formulation in the CurQfen was used to compare against BioCurc, the claimed potency would only be in the realm of 40x.

            Regardless, the publication is still the best attempt at collating bio-availability data for curcumin formulations that I could find and can be useful in making decisions on which products to purchase.

            1. “Regardless, the publication is still the best attempt at collating bio-availability data for curcumin formulations that I could find and can be useful in making decisions on which products to purchase.”

              I agree, Jun.

          2. Hey Johan,

            Just to help with making the distinction between Curcuwin vs. C3 Complex more clear for the reader, which is clearly in favour of C3:

            C3 inputs:
            120 capsules of 1g costs 55UDS, containing 95% Curcuminoids and is 11.5x better absorbed compared to normal Curcuminoids

            Curcuwin inputs:
            120 capsules of 0.5g costs 60USD, containing 20% Curcuminoids and is 46x better absorbed compared to normal Curcuminoids

            That means:
            – each 1g of capsules of Curcuwin provides the equivalent of 9.2g of Curcumin at the blood level
            – each 1g of capsules of C3 Complex provides the equivalent of 10.9g of Curcumin at the blood level

            In addition:
            – to obtain 1g of Complex C3 you only need to use one capsule in our example that costs 0.45USD while
            – to obtain 1g of Curcuwin you need need to use two capsules that cost in total 1USD

            Therefore, 1g of C3 leads to a little better blood level of Curcuminoids (1.2x better) while it is 2.2x cheaper.

            In summary, Curcuwin (made by OmniActive Health Technologies, Ltd) is roughly 2x more expensive to achieve the same result as C3 Complex (made by Sabinsa Corporation), and for that you need to take 2x more capsules each day of Curcuwin to achieve the same blood level as C3 Complex.

            If we do not trust in anyway the claims regarding higher bio-availability and just look at the absolute quantity of Curcuminoids we take for the money we pay, C3 Complex is 10x cheaper and 10x lower amount of capsules to be taken to get to the same dose as Curcuwin (2x because of the price per gram, and ~5x because of higher Curcuminoids concentration of C3 vs Curcuwin, i.e. 95% vs. 20%).

            This is the reason we selected Curcumin C3 Complex at MCS Formulas: cheaper and more convenient as we need to take less capsules. If there is any better (that comes with more certainty and less promise) we will immediately go for that.

            Kind regards,
            Daniel

            1. C3 with Bioperine is superior indeed because of the amount of extract you get in one pill, even if the bioavailability might be lower compared to some of the nanoformulations. I like the Curcuwin product too, I’ve used it and found it worked with a stubborn case of bursitis in my right shoulder. It comes in a small bottle, easy to carry when you’re out for work, etc. In the end, it’s about getting a proper dose on a consistent basis, both convenience and price matter when you have to take many supplements for a long time. For cancer, I’d look at combining curcumin with other substances to obtain synergies.

    1. Hi Jcancom, thank you for the reference. I am aware of a number of specialised proprietary formulations of curcumin (e.g. Biocurc, Theracumin, MicroActive, etc) which may dramatically increase the bioavailability of curcumin in the capsules. However, there are a few queries/issues I have with these types of curcumin products:
      1) They are a lot more expensive
      2) The actual amount of curcumin in each capsule is usually much less than standard C3 capsule (which may not be an issue if the increased bioavailability is indeed what is claimed)
      3) It is unclear to me how much of that bioavailable curcumin is in the free (unconjugated) form, and therefore hard to compare one product against another to measure actual effectiveness

      I agree with the suggestions from the discussion above to adopt a 80/20 rule (i.e. 80% normal C3 capsule, 20% special formulation capsule). However, I was just wondering whether boiling the C3 capsules may further increase absorption, or whether it may adversely impact the bioavailability of curcumin/piperine?

  31. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225836694_Degradation_of_bioactive_spice_compound_Curcumin_during_domestic_cooking

    “The study confirmed the vulnerability of the diketone bridge in curcumin molecule to heat.”

    Boiling turmeric is fine, but I wouldn’t boil the content of curcumin capsules. For improved absorption, you might want to make turmeric milk and add the content of the pills once it has cooled a bit:
    http://anticancersupplements.blogspot.com/p/curcumin.html (see video at the bottom of the page)

    1. Thank you for the links, very interesting research detailing degradation of curcumin. The “Anticancersupplements” blog provides quite a good summary as well.

    1. Hi Jshaw,

      It depends. At MCS Formulas we performed research for each before writing on the label when to take. However, in general I would take them 30 min before food combined with e.g. Omega 3 Oil or other oils to try to improve absorption.
      E.g., I take my daily 1000 mg Curcumin tablet combined with Omega 3 Oil on an empty stomach.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

  33. Hi Daniel,
    Thanks for this website – it’s been a source of wisdom & power through knowledge for me and my family as we go through our cancer journey. My Dad was diagnosed with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. I’ve been searching for a safe dose of curcumin for him – do you have any advice on dosage (what dose to start with & how to work on increasing the dose) & what we should monitor to ensure we aren’t causing issues with the bile duct etc. Thanks again.

    1. Dear Fiona,

      Thank you for your kind feedback. I am happy to know the information here helps. In general, I am an adept of higher doses and less supplement types. I would use 7-8 g/day Curcumin as this seems to be the dose relevant in oncology. I would move to that dose step by step from 1g/day up to the target dose during about two weeks (shorter/longer increase depending on urgency). When the patient is on blood thinning medication, we need to be careful with high doses of supplements, or juicing, as those tend to further act towards thinning the blood.

      Note: when calculating the dose of Curcumin sometimes people tend to look at what the supplement company is suggesting as absorption. For example, if a supplement company is promising a 20X higher absorption, people would use 400 mg/day, assuming 400 x 20 would lead to 8g/day. I would not do this. In my view, increased absorption is just a bonus.

      Also, we need to make sure we have the right dose of Curcumin or Curcuminoids and not Turmeric (which is the whole plant that contains only a small amount of Curcumin).

      The last two points may be basic information, but I just wanted to make sure they are written down here.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

  34. How about Myprotein Curcumin + D3 tabs? They contain Novasol curcumin and 180 caps costs only 20 EUR.

    https://si.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/kurkuma-in-vitamin-d3/11279952.html?variation=11279954

    Also some articles I found suggest taking as close to natural form as possible is best as they discovered that yes, curcumin works, but also that turmeric contains 6-7 other substances which together work even better. Besides India which has very low rates of some cancers (like colorectal) uses turmeric in most of the foods.

    I think this can be the same discussion as drinking green tea like Japan people do or taking EGCG and other extracts which can in high dosages cause a major organ failure. Specialy liver… A few people even died because of it.. I would be carefull with those.. One cancer patient from FB group just told me a few days ago he did more damage with green tea extract than cancer did to him..

    Through the years I took a lot of extract, did not eat fruti or veggies because what the hell let me just drink some vitamin C powder, pop a multi vitamin pill and various extracts.. Together with a lot of milk and red meat and here I am at the age of 40 with stage 3B rectal cancer.. I moved a lot, lifted weights for 20 years, my BMI is 20, no family history of gastric cancers.. So 9 out of 10 factors negative. Only one positive, diet… Almost no fruits and veggies, a lot of meat and whey and other powdered proteins as I “needed” to ingest at least 150g of protein per day.. Now I discointinued that and my protein intake is 1/5 of previous levels, yet I look the same.
    Well not to loose the point, I would rather ingest turmeric + ginger + black pepper, drink green tea and matcha, eat various colored fruits and veggies each day instead of taking vitamin pills.. Sure some studies say vitamin is a vitamin, synthetics just as good as natural, but other argue that you can never emulate food from nature and just isolate what you need out of it….

    Just to make clear, I still take like 20 supplements a day, various mushroom extracts, various green powders etc, but I try to get off of them and steer towards healthy eating / exercising and only supplementing what I cannot get from food.

    just my 2 cents.

    1. Dear Tomaz,

      Regarding the supplement you mentioned: I stated often my view in that
      1. I would always have about 80% of Curcumin target dose from sources knowing they deliver that (not just calculations based on what is promised to achieve via increased absorption)
      2. the remaining 20% or so I would address with formulations that are promising high absorptions
      So far the one that delivers the most curcumin per dollar or euro is Curcumin C3 and this is why I selected this one (and not NovaSol) at MCS Formulas. I am flexible to change my opinion if facts will point in a different direction, but at this moment this is how I think based on the facts I came across during my research.

      Regarding the other point, I do agree that it is important to take substances from food. However, it depends on where we are with our health. Taking it from food is building sustainably for long term, but when we need to act fast we will need higher doses on short term. That is when it makes sense to add specific extracts too, instead of a tea only. So it’s not one approach that fits all the cases but depending on the case, one or the other approach needs to be used. Of course, with all the supplements and drugs we need to know what doses we should use: too little doesn’t do anything, too much creates problems as you mentioned. That is why it’s best to check with experts what makes sense for each case.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

  35. Hi, Daniel! Thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into this website. Unfortunately I stumbled upon something disturbing about Curcumin. There are concerns with the research done by Bharat Aggarwal. I see that at least some of his articles are in your references. I stumbled on the information in this wikipedia article:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scientific_misconduct_incidents

    For your ease, here are the references cited in the wikipedia article:
    https://retractionwatch.com/2013/04/10/md-andersons-bharat-aggarwal-threatens-to-sue-retraction-watch/

    https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/M-D-Anderson-professor-under-fraud-probe-3360037.php

    https://retractionwatch.com/2022/10/03/frankincense-extract-paper-is-30th-retracted-by-former-md-anderson-researcher-who-once-threatened-to-sue-retraction-watch/#more-125742

    http://retractiondatabase.org/RetractionSearch.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1#?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport%3d1%26auth%3dAggarwal%252c%2bBharat%2bB

    I’d be glad to know your opinion on this and what you think about Curcumin with this new information.

    Best regards,
    Emo

    1. Dear Emo,

      Thank you for your comment.

      I have no doubts that fraud exists in science as well as in all areas of the society, given that the society as a whole is still behind in its evolution, a fact clearly highlighted by the global events from past years.

      Furthermore, even when not intentionally influenced, scientific results are often strongly affected by the bias of the researchers, of those funding the research and by the experimental conditions that may be wrong or incomplete.

      This is why, in order to conclude in this context, I always stated that we need to look at the clouds of information and not just specific articles, i.e. we need to zoom in and zoom out.

      Regarding Curcumin, there is an extremely large cloud of information (i.e. 21,536 published articles listed on PubMed) including both theoretical and experimental, lab and human studies, most of which clearly supports the potential of Curcumin.

      Therefore,
      – while I think the example you mentioned here of fraud in science is very helpful as the reader should understand that science of today is feeding from attention, and some “scientists” would do anything (conscious or unconscious) to get attention and funding,
      – based on all the human knowledge, traditional and scientific, Curcumin remains one of the most outstanding and promising plant extracts with important potential to add value to human life.

      I hope this answers your question, and I wish you a very nice weekend!

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

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