Curcumin hope in TB fight
Indian scientists have shown that turmeric’s yellow ingredient may help
enhance the efficacy of the lone standard vaccine against tuberculosis, which
is given to all children at birth but is effective only for about a decade.
Researchers at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, have carried out
studies on mice to demonstrate that curcumin -– a molecule extracted from
turmeric – when encapsulated into tiny nano-particles, can increase the
efficacy of the bacille Camille-Guerin (BCG) vaccine.
The protective effect of the BCG vaccine diminishes over time and is lost
by the time children turn 10 or 12.
Gobardhan Das, head of the Centre for Molecular Medicine at JNU, and his
colleagues have now shown that curcumin nano-particles can enhance the capacity
of the BCG vaccine to stimulate the long-term memory of the immune system.
They found that the efficacy of the BCG vaccine was stronger and lasted
longer in immunised mice that had also received curcumin nano-particles for 30
days after receiving the vaccines.
They have published their findings in the research journal Infection and
Immunity.
When the immunised mice were challenged by a virulent strain of
tuberculosis, delivered through aerosols, the bacterial loads in the lungs and
spleen were significantly lower in the mice that had also received the curcumin
nano-particles.
The JNU studies suggest that the addition of curcumin nano-particles
activates two types of cells in the immune system, called Th1 and Th17, which
play a key role in the long-term protection against tuberculosis infections.
“We need to validate these findings, but if these results are extrapolated
to humans, we’re proposing enhancing the efficacy of, and long-term protection
with, BCG vaccines,” Das said.
Earlier studies had established that curcumin can influence the immune
system in animals and humans.
“Our results suggest that nano-curcumin can elongate or stretch the ability
of the immune system to recognise the TB bacilli,” said Anand Ranganathan, a
study team member.