Orient Pharm Exp Med (2016) 16:185–194
DOI 10.1007/s13596-016-0235-9
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Stress resistance promoting potentials of turmeric
oil and curcuminoids in mice
Suruchi Verma 1 & Deepak Mundkinajeddu 2 & Amit Agarwal 2 &
Shyam Sunder Chatterjee 3 & Vikas Kumar 1
Received: 14 December 2015 / Accepted: 1 July 2016 / Published online: 1 August 2016
# Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University and Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016
Abstract Curcuma longa rhizomes (turmeric) are used as
tonic in traditionally known Indian systems of medicine.
Aim of this study was to compare stress response suppressing
efficacies of a Curcuma longa extract (CLE) enriched in cur-
cuminoids with those of curcumin and turmeric oil (TO).
Effects of daily oral treatments with curcumin (5 mg/kg/day)
or CLE (5, 20, and 80 mg/kg/day) or TO (1, 3, 10, 30 and
100 mg/kg/day) to male mice on their body weight and core
temperature and in stress induced hyperthermia, tail suspen-
sion, and pentobarbital sleep tests were quantified. Although
their single doses had no significant effects in foot shock stress
induced hyperthermia test, curcumin like and dose dependant
suppressing effects of CLE were observed after its repeated
Retired Head of Pharmacology Research Laboratories, Dr. Willmar
Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe, Shyam Sunder Chatterjee,
Germany.
* Vikas Kumar
vikas.phe@iitbhu.ac.in
Suruchi Verma
suruchi.verma.rs.phe13@iitbhu.ac.in
Deepak Mundkinajeddu
deepak@naturalremedy.com
Amit Agarwal
amit@naturalremedy.com
Shyam Sunder Chatterjee
shyam.chatterjee@web.de
1
Department of Pharmaceutics, Neuropharmacology Research
Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu
University), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221 005, India
2
Research and Development Center, Natural Remedies Private
Limited, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560 100, India
3
Stettiner Straße 1, D-76138, Karlsruhe, Germany
Online ISSN 2211-1069
Print ISSN 1598-2386
daily doses. Such effects of TO in the test was also observed
after its higher tested daily doses only. Occasional foot shock
stress triggered body weight losses and elevated basal
core temperatures were also dose dependently antago-
nized by CLE and TO. Unlike for curcumin or CLE no
effects of TO in tail suspension and pentobarbital sleep
test were observed after its lower tested 11 daily doses.
These observations reveal that volatile bioactive constitu-
ents of turmeric other than curcuminoids also possess
stress resistance promoting properties and suggest that
such efficacy of turmeric powder do not depend on their
curcumin or curcuminoids contents only. Mouse bioassay
procedure used in this study is well suited for pharmaco-
logical standardization of turmeric extracts and also for
identifying their bioactive constituents.
Keywords Curcuma longa . Turmeric oil . Curcuminoids .
Foot-shock stress . Hyperthermia . Depression
Introduction
Curcuma longa is a plant of the Zingiberaceae family (genus
curcuma) widely cultivated and diversely processed in India,
China and many other countries for obtaining its roots and
diverse types of products derived from them for culinary as
well as medicinal purposes (Li et al. 2011). Aromatic yellow
colored roots of the plant, commonly known as turmeric, are
often used in Ayurvedic and other traditionally known sys-
tems of medicine as a tonic or as an adjuvant for prevention
and cure of chronic inflammatory disorders. The structurally
analogous yellow colored diarylheptanoids isolated from tur-
meric, often collectively referred to as turmeric curcuminoids,
and are some of the quantitatively major bioactive constituents
of the roots. Most currently commercialized turmeric
186
preparations are now often analytically standardized to con-
tain 2–8 % curcuminoids (Aggarwal et al. 2007a, b;
Srivastava et al. 2010). However turmeric oils devoid of cur-
cuminoids and enriched in sesquiterpinoids and other volatiles
are also often used for culinary as well for diverse medicinal
purposes (Apisariyakul et al. 1995; Aratanechemuge et al.
2002; Ferreira et al. 1992; Jayaprakasha et al. 2002; Negi
et al. 1999; Roth et al. 1998). A more recent computer assisted
study has identified several such volatile molecules as some of
the major non-toxigenic bioactive constituents of turmeric
(Balaji and Chempakam 2010).
Information now available on medicinal phytochemistry
and phytopharmaclogy of turmeric and several other edible
adaptogenic herbs (Kumar et al. 2015) strongly suggest
that several of them can contribute to the psychological
well being of consumers and could as well be involved in
their physical and mental health benefits (Murphy et al.
2014; Rooney et al. 2013). It is now well recognized also
that additive or synergistic interactions between diverse
combinations of phytochemicals are involved in health
benefits of vegetarian diets and herbal remedies (Liu
2004), and that regular consumption of appropriate combi-
nations of some such edible phytochemicals with every
day meals could as well be used for prevention and cure
of mental health problems (Parletta et al. 2013). Therefore
efforts are now being made in several laboratories, includ-
ing ours, to identify and pharmacologically standardize a
bioassay procedure that could be used for identifying edi-
ble phytochemicals and their combinations potentially use-
ful for prevention of such problems accompanying almost
all so called lifestyle diseases. During such efforts it has
consistently been observed that efficacies of numerous
phytochemicals and their combinations in animal behav-
ioural models depend not only on their daily oral doses
but also on the number of days of treatments (Kumar and
Chatterjee 2014). More recent observations made in the
realm of our psychopharmacological studies based on ho-
listic Ayurvedic therapeutic principles (Chatterjee and
Kumar 2012) have revealed that such are also the cases
for curcumin and other turmeric curcuminoids and strongly
suggest that their primary sites of actions involved in their
stress response modulating activities reside inside the gas-
trointestinal tract (Verma et al. 2014; Verma et al. 2015).
Results of two further experiments conducted to experi-
mentally verify the possibility whether turmeric oil devoid
of curcumin and other turmeric curcuminoids also posses
stress response suppressing activities or not, and to reconfirm
our earlier observations made with pure curcumin and turmer-
ic curcuminoids has been described and discussed in this com-
munication. Implication of the reported observations for
obtaining pharmacologically better standardizes Curcuma
longa extracts according to Ayurvedic therapeutic principles
are also pointed out.
S. Verma et al.
Materials and methods
Animals
Swiss albino male mice (20 ± 5 g) were obtained from the
Central Animal House of the Institute of Medical
Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
(Registration Number: 542/AB/CPCSEA). Prior approval
from the Central Animal Ethical Committee of the
University (CAECU) was taken for this study protocol
(Dean/2014/CAEC/602, dated 30–05-2014). The animals
were housed in groups of six in polypropylene cages at an
ambient temperature of 25 ± 1 °C and 45–55 % relative
humidity, with a 12:12 h light/dark cycle. They were al-
ways provided with commercial food pellets and water ad
libitum, and were acclimatized for at least 1 week before
using them for the experiments. Behavioural experiments
were conducted between 09.00 and 14.00 h, and
BPrinciples of laboratory animal care^ (NIH publication
number 85–23, revised in 1985) guidelines were always
followed.
Plant extract and analytical characterization
Purified curcumin and the Curcuma longa extract (CLE) high-
ly enriched in turmeric curcuminoids (95.49 % w/w) used in
this study were generously supplied by R&D Center of
Natural Remedies Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru, India. Pure curcumin
was isolated from the extract by using column chromatogra-
phy. For such purposes, temperature of the column (Kromasil
C18) oven was maintained on 27 ± 1 °C with flow rate 1.5 ml/
min. 0.140 g of anhydrous potassium dihydrogen orthophos-
phate (KH2PO4) in 900 ml HPLC grade water with 0.5 ml of
orthophosphoric acid in 1000 ml water was taken as mobile
phase. Curcuminoids contents of CLE were quantified by
using method USP 37-NF32 for the presence of total curcu-
minoids and the same method was used for assessing the pu-
rity of the curcumin sample used (Fig. 1a and b). Analytical
purity of the curcumin sample was 95.4 %, and the contents of
the three turmeric curcuminoids quantified in CLE were
curcumin (77.94 % w/w), demethoxycurcumin (15.03 % w/
w) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (2.52 % w/w). The turmeric
oil (TO) sample used in this study was purchased from
Soulflower handmade factory, Mumbai, India. Three ma-
jor constituents of TO quantified by Gas Chromatography
(Fig. 1c) were Turmeron-I (8.22 % w/w), ar-Turmeron
( 30 . 8 3 % w / w ) Tu r m e r o n- I I ( 5 . 0 3% w / w ) . C M C
(Carboxymethyl cellulose; Central Drug House, Delhi,
India), pentobarbital (Loba Chemie Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai,
India) and all other chemical and reagents used in this
study were of highest analytical quality commercially
available in India.
Potential of curcuminoids & turmeric oil for anti-stress activity
Fig. 1 HPLC chromatogram of
(a) pure curcumin (b)
curcuminoids (CLE) and (c) GC
chromatogram of turmeric oil
Animal grouping and drug treatments
Two sets of experiments using randomly selected groups of
six male mice each were conducted using the experimental
procedure graphically summarized in Fig. 2. In each set of
experiment, the effect of different daily oral doses of a given
test agent was compared to those observed after daily such
treatment with the vehicle or reference agent used. In one of
the experiments effects of 5 mg/kg/day oral dose curcumin
187
was compared with those of 5, or 20 or 80 mg/kg/day oral
doses of CLE, and in the second one efficacy of CLE (5 mg/
kg/day; p.o.) was compared with those of graded oral doses (1,
3, 10, 30 and 100 mg/kg/day) of TO.
All test and reference agents were suspended in 0.3 %
CMC and orally administered for 11 consecutive days. The
vehicle treated control groups were similarly treated with
CMC only. Orally administered volume of suspensions was
always 10 ml/kg. Choice of dose of curcumin and CLE in the
188
Fig. 2 Graphical representation
of experimental protocol used
first experiment was based on data available from our previ-
ous pilot studies (Verma et al. 2014; Verma et al. 2015). Since
as yet no reports on pharmacologically interesting dose ranges
of turmeric oils or of their bioactive constituents are available,
the dose ranges of TO used in the second experiment were
arbitrarily chosen.
Stress induced hyperthermia test
On days 1, 5, 7 and 10 of the experiments and after
60 min of days oral treatments and basal rectal tempera-
ture recordings, an individual mouse from each group
was placed in a black box (24 × 29 × 40 cm) with a
grid floor for 1 min. Electric foot shock through the grid
floor (2 mA, 50 Hz of 2 ms duration) was delivered for
stress induction. After 10 s of their stay in the box, five
consecutive foot shocks of 2 mA at 10 s intervals were
given through the grid floor. Immediately thereafter the
animal were placed back in its home cages, and stress
induced change in its rectal temperature was assessed
after it had stayed in its home cage 10 min (Zethof
et al. 1994). All rectal temperatures were recorded by a
calibrated rectal probe and electronic thermometer. The
difference in the rectal temperature recorded before and
10 min after application of foot-shocks was considered to
be the foot-shock stress induced transient hyperthermic
response of the animal.
Tail suspension test
On the 11th experimental day and after 60 min of test com-
pound administrations, the total duration of immobility in-
duced by tail suspension was measured. For the test, individ-
ual mouse were hung on its tail on a wire in an upside down
S. Verma et al.
posture. After initial vigorous movements, the mouse assumed
an immobile posture and the period of immobility during a
5 min observation period was noted (Thakur et al. 2015). Mice
were considered immobile when they hang passively and
completely motionless. Before oral administrations of test
agents, weights of animals and their rectal temperatures were
recorded.
Pentobarbital-induced sleep test
This test was conducted on 12th day of experiments when
no oral treatment was given. On this day, the rectal tem-
peratures and body weights of animals were recorded im-
mediately before pentobarbital challenges. Pentobarbital
(40 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered to all animals of all
groups and onset of sleep (loss of righting reflex), and
duration of sleep was recorded by a observer unaware of
the treatments (Ojima et al. 1995).
Statistical analysis
Mean ± standard error of mean (SEM) was calculated for
the observed values in each experimental group.
Statistical analysis was performed by one way analysis
of variance (ANOVA) followed by Student-Newman-
Keuls multiple comparison test, two way ANOVA follow-
ed by Bonferroni post hoc test. GraphPad Prism-5
(GraphPad Software Inc., La Jolla, California, USA) was
used for statistical analysis. Origin-Pro 8 (OriginLab
Corporation, Massachusetts, USA) software was used for
graphs representation. p-value less than 0.05 was consid-
ered as statistically significant.
Potential of curcuminoids & turmeric oil for anti-stress activity
Results
Body weights
Mean body weights of the control and different doses of test
agents treated groups are summarized in the Fig. 3a and b.
Mean body weights of the control animals recorded on the
first observational day of a given experiment was not always
significantly different from those of the group recorded on
subsequent observational. However, these mean values of
control groups in the experiments decreased consistently dur-
ing the 12 observational days. Results summarized in Fig. 3a
revealed that all tested oral dose of CLE (5, 20 and 80 mg/kg)
ultimately afforded almost complete protection against such
body weight losses on the 12th observational day, and recon-
firm that such is also the case for 5 mg/kg daily oral doses of
purified curcumin. Statistically significant effects of 5 mg/kg/
day CLE were observed only after its 7 or more daily oral
doses, whereas such efficacy of the same daily dose of puri-
fied curcumin was observed already on the 5th treatment day.
Analogous to the observed effects 5 mg/kg daily CLE treat-
ments, dose dependant protective effects TO against stress
triggered bodyweight losses were observed only after its 7
or more daily oral doses higher than 10 mg/kg (Fig. 3b).
However, changes in mean bodyweights of 5 mg/kg/day
CLE or of purified curcumin treated groups observed on the
12th days of the experiments were quite analogous to that of
the 100 mg/kg/day TO treated group.
Basal core temperatures
Mean basal rectal temperatures of different groups recorded
during the course of the experiments are summarised in the
Fig. 4a and b. These mean values of the 5 mg/kg curcumin or
some of the TO treated groups on the 1st observational day
were numerically somewhat higher than, but not statistically
Fig. 3 Effect of stress on body weight of male mice treated with (a) curcuminoids (CLE) and (b) Turmeric oil (TO). Values are mean ± SEM, n = 6.*
denotes statistically significant difference (Two way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc test) relative to control group (* = p < 0.05)
189
significantly different than, those of the mean values of the
corresponding vehicle treated control groups on that day.
Similarly, the differences between the mean vales of the con-
trol groups on the 1st observational day in the two experi-
ments (36.20 ± 0.04 °C and 36.90 ± 0.09 °C) were also sta-
tistically not significantly different from each other. Since all
these values were within the physiological ranges of our
mouse colony, and within the experimental errors of the meth-
od used (using rectal probe) they seem to be independent of
the treatments received.
However, recorded mean basal core temperatures of the
vehicle treated control groups increased slightly and gradually
during the course of the experiments and remained somewhat
elevated on the 10th, 11th, and 12th days of the experiments.
Such daily handling and occasional foot shock stress triggered
elevation of basal core temperatures were not observed in the
purified curcumin or any of the CLE treated groups and these
values of all these groups on the last three observational days
were statistically significantly lower than those of the vehicle
tread control groups. Although on the last three observational
days these mean values of the 3 mg/kg or higher daily oral TO
treated groups were numerically lower than those of the cor-
responding control group (Fig. 4b) no statistically significant
effect of the oils was observed during the course of the
experiment.
Stress induced hyperthermia
These results are summarized in Fig. 5a and b. After their
single oral doses no significant effects of any of the test agents
on foot shock stress triggered transient hyperthermic response
were observed. This response of the vehicle treated control
groups increased somewhat on the 5th, 7th and 10th observa-
tional days whereas those of purified curcumin or CLE treated
groups continued decrease on those days. On all these three
days the observed effects of 5 mg/kg daily oral doses of
190
Fig. 4 Effect of intermittent foot shocks on basal rectal temperature of
mice treated with (a) curcuminoids (CLE) and (b) Turmeric oil (TO).
Values are mean ± SEM, n = 6. * denotes statistically significant
purified curcumin were always higher than those observed
with the 5 mg/kg daily CLE treated group, whereas those of
the 20 or 80 mg/kg/day CLE treated ones were similar to those
of the 5 mg/kg/day purified curcumin treated ones (Fig. 5a).
CLE like statistically significant effect of TO was observed
after its 10 daily 100 mg/kg doses only (Fig. 5b).
Tail suspension test
Results summarized in Fig. 6a reveal that quantitatively the
observed efficacies of eleven 5 mg/kg daily oral doses of
purified curcumin and CLE in this test for antidepressants
are almost equal, and that the effects of CLE in this test in-
creases further with its increasing daily doses. Statistically
significant and CLE like effects of TO in this test was ob-
served after its highest daily dose (100 mg/kg) tested.
Fig. 5 Effect of foot-shock stress triggered transient hyperthermia in
mice treated with (a) curcuminoids (CLE) and (b) Turmeric oil (TO).
Values are mean ± SEM, n = 6. * denotes statistically significant
S. Verma et al.
difference (Two way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc test)
relative to control group (* = p < 0.05)
Pentobarbital-induced sleep test
Results summarized in Fig. 7 reveal that 24 h after 11 daily 20
or 80 mg/kg oral doses of CLE significantly potentiated pen-
tobarbital induced sedation and hypnosis. However, no such
effects of 5 m/kg daily oral dose of CLE or of purified
curcumin were observed in this test. No statistically signifi-
cant effects of any of the TO doses were observed in this test
(results not shown).
Discussion
Reported observations reconfirm that 5 mg/kg daily oral doses
of curcumin, or of turmeric curcuminoids in general, are high
enough for protecting mice against chronic and unpredictable
foot shock stress triggered alternations in body weight and
difference (Two way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc test)
relative to control group (* = p < 0.05)
Potential of curcuminoids & turmeric oil for anti-stress activity
Fig. 6 Effect of 11 daily oral
doses on immobility period of
mice treated with (a)
curcuminoids (CLE) and (b)
Turmeric oil (TO). Values are
mean ± SEM, n = 6. * denotes
statistically significant difference
(ANOVA) relative to control
group (* = p < 0.05)
thermoregulatory processes, and reveal that phytochemicals
present in turmeric oils devoid of curcuminoids also possess
analogous protective effects. However, although CLE like
dose dependant protective effects of TO against stress trig-
gered body weight losses were observed after its 3 mg/kg
and higher daily oral doses, its efficacy to afford protection
against stress triggered elevations in basal core temperature, or
foot shock stress triggered transient hyperthermic responses
were observed only after its 30 mg/kg and higher daily doses.
Moreover, unlike curcuminoids, even 100 mg/kg daily TO
doses had no effects in the pentobarbital-induced sleep test
and in the tail suspension test significant effects of the oil were
observed only after this highest tested daily dose. Therefore it
seems reasonable to assume that the biological processes and
mechanisms involved in observed stress response suppressing
activity profile of turmeric oils devoid of curcuminoids is not
identical to those of turmeric curcuminoids and that effective-
ness of turmeric curcuminoids as potential antidepressants are
much higher than that of turmeric oils. TO was devoid of
curcuminoids, and was enriched in volatile secondary metab-
olite of the plant like turmerone, α-turmerone, curlone, and
diverse other volatile ones. CLE on the other hand was highly
enriched (95.4 % w/w) in structurally analogous
diarylheptanoids commonly referred to as curcuminoids
(curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin)
and devoid of turmeric volatiles. Since differences between
Fig. 7 Effect of 11 daily oral doses on onset and duration of sleep in mice
treated with curcuminoids (CLE). Values are mean ± SEM, n = 6. *
denotes statistically significant difference (ANOVA) relative to control
group (* = p < 0.05)
191
bioactivity profiles of turmeric curcuminoids and some known
constituents of turmeric oil has also been observed in other
laboratories (Sandur et al. 2007) it is apparent that the ob-
served differences between stress resistance increasing activ-
ity profiles TO and CLE is due to the presence of structurally
and functionally diverse bioactive constituents in them.
It was interesting to note though, that protective effects of
5 mg/kg daily oral doses of purified curcumin (devoid of de-
methoxy curcumin and bis-desmethoxy curcumin, but con-
taining some other minor impurities) against stress triggered
body weight losses were observed after its 6 or more daily
doses, whereas that of the same dose of CLE was already
apparent after its 4 daily doses. Analogous difference between
the effects of CLE and purified curcumin were also observed
in foot shock stress induced hyperthermia test, and mean
values of basal rectal temperature of the CLE or the vehicle
treated groups on the first treatment day were always lower
(but not statistically significantly different) than the purified
curcumin treated one. Although the observed effects of 5 mg/
kg daily dose of purified curcumin and CLE in tail suspension
test were quantitatively similar, such were not the observa-
tions made in the pentobarbital-induced sleep test (Fig. 7).
These observed differences could as well be due to pharma-
cological interactions between curcumin and other turmeric
constituents present in the samples tested. Hereupon, differ-
ences in oral bio-availability or bio-accessibility or metabolic
profiles of structurally diverse curcuminoids as well differ-
ences in their bioactivity profiles (Ahmed and Gilani 2014)
could play important roles.
In any case, it remains certain that apart from curcumin and
other curcuminoids, Curcuma longa roots also possess other
stress response suppressing constituents, and that traditionally
known medicinal uses of diverse types of turmeric prepara-
tions must not necessarily be due to their curcumin or curcu-
minoids contents only. Our observations strongly suggest also
that regular intake of even fairly low daily oral doses of even
crude turmeric preparations can afford protection against
chronic mild stress triggered alterations in physiological pro-
cesses and mechanisms regulating body weight and tempera-
ture. Body weights of elderly and multi-morbid patients are
often lower than those of average healthy persons in a given
192
society, whereas those of persons at higher risk to diverse
chronic life threatening diseases like diabetes, metabolic dis-
orders, and cancer are often higher than average or mean of the
general population. Although our current knowledge on the
role of thermoregulatory processes in such diseases and ill-
nesses still remain uncertain, it has since long been well rec-
ognized that core temperature measurements is a feasible and
reliable means for assessing physical fitness (Moran and
Mendel 2002; Ring 1998; Romanovsky 2007).
Earlier observations in our laboratories have revealed that
curcuminoids or turmeric oil like low dose stress response
modulating affects of several other phytochemicals ubiqui-
tously present in numerous edible or medicinal plants (Khan
et al. 2015; Langstieh et al. 2014; Shivavedi et al. 2014a;
Shivavedi et al. 2014b; Shrivastava et al. 2014). Salicylic
and 4-hydroxybenzoic acids are just two examples of such
phytochemicals also encountered in turmeric, and it has re-
cently been suggested also that salicylic acid could as well
be another health promoting bioactive constituent of turmeric
containing food ingredients like curry powder etc. (Duthie and
Wood 2011; Paterson et al. 2006; Wood et al. 2011).
Therefore, it is apparent that traditionally known medicinal
uses of turmeric preparations, or for that matter of any herbal
preparation, do not solely depend on one or a few of their
bioactive constituents only and that proper understanding of
biological interactions between them is essential for more ra-
tional understanding of their medicinal values or for obtaining
novel therapeutic leads urgently needed for prevention and
cure of environmental or metabolic stress triggered patholo-
gies. Since bioactivity profiles of structurally diverse curcu-
minoids are also not identical (Ahmed and Gilani 2014), it is
apparent that proper understanding of biological interactions
between diverse bioactive constituents are necessary for better
understanding of the biological processes and mechanisms
involved in traditionally known medicinal uses of turmeric.
For such purposes appropriate dose response and other studies
using different types of analytically well characterizes turmer-
ic derived products, and the mouse bioassay procedure used in
this and in our earlier studies could be a feasible and more
convenient starting point. Since numerous bioactive constitu-
ents of turmeric are structurally and functionally analogous to
those encountered in diverse other traditionally known medic-
inal plants (Sun et al. 2016; Amalraj et al. 2016), observations
made during such efforts could also be helpful for better un-
derstanding of therapeutic potentials other plants containing
such phytochemicals.
It is now well recognized that altered homeostasis in stress
response regulating systems leads to diabesity and other met-
abolic disorders associated with mental health problems and
that modulators of psychological and physiological stress re-
sponses could be useful for prevention and cure of such and
numerous other environmental stress related medical condi-
tions (Bystritsky et al. 2014; Chrousos 2009; Guarner et al.
S. Verma et al.
2011; Kassi et al. 2011) including those of the caregivers of
patients suffering from or at risk to Alzheimer’s disease and
cancer (González et al. 1999; Kim and Given 2008).
Demographic and epidemiological studies have often pointed
out that turmeric could be a food ingredient involved in pre-
ventive effects on of meals against diverse such medical con-
ditions (Aggarwal et al. 2007a, b; Azmi et al. 2015; Fazel et al.
2015) and it has recently been estimated that turmeric curcu-
minoids consumed with curry products is less than 0.5 mg/
person/day and that their contents vary considerably in differ-
ent such currently consumed products (Kim et al. 2015a,
2015b). However, the questions whether other bioactive food
phytochemicals consumed with curry meals also contribute to
the health benefits of turmeric curcuminoids, or whether cur-
cuminoids potentiates the effects of stress resistance promot-
ing and other effects of edible phytochemicals still remain
open. Answering such questions is not only essential for
obtaining optimal medicinal benefits from turmeric, but
also for designing more rational dietary therapies urgently
needed for prevention of diabesity and other lifestyle as-
sociated medical conditions spreading like epidemics in
the twenty-first century.
It is now well recognized that like numerous other food
phytochemicals, curcuminoids are also extensively metabo-
lized inside the gastrointestinal tract, and that their broad spec-
trums of bioactivity profiles is mainly due to their high chem-
ical reactivity to diverse biological targets (Heger et al. 2014).
Observed low dose effects of turmeric derive product in this
and in our earlier study (Verma et al. 2015) strongly suggest
that alteration in gut microbial ecology and functions are in-
volved in their stress resistance promoting effects in mice and
that hereupon their microbicidal activities could also play a
crucial roles. That such is indeed the case is further supported
by a recent report demonstrating modulatory role of turmeric
meals on gut microbiota and gut motility (Dey et al. 2015).
Since disturbances in the physiological functions of gut mi-
crobiota affects visceral pain, i.e. a hall mark of functional
gastrointestinal disorders (O’Mahony et al. 2014) efforts will
now be made in our laboratories to experimentally verify the
possibility whether low dose curcuminoids or turmeric oils or
their combinations could also be used for prevention and cure
of such disorders or for avoiding side effects of anti-
inflammatory drugs and other currently available analgesics
or pain killers. Ultimate goal of these efforts is to obtain an
analytically as well as pharmacologically well standard-
ized turmeric extract that could be further developed as a
herbal therapeutic option for prevention and cure of cen-
tral sensitivity syndromes accompanying almost all chron-
ic inflammatory disorders.
Acknowledgments Suruchi Verma thankfully acknowledges the
Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New
Delhi, for awarding INSPIRE Fellowship (IF131112).
Potential of curcuminoids & turmeric oil for anti-stress activity
Compliance with ethical standards
Ethical Statement The research was carried out according to the rules
governing the use of laboratory animals as acceptable internationally and
the experimental protocol was approved by the Animal Ethics
Committee, Banaras Hindu University(Registration Number: 542/AB/
CPCSEA)
Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of
interest.
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