Turmeric or more specifically curcumin's properties are more antibacterial/anti-inflammatory in nature; rather than being a stimulator of immune system function like Echinacea. Thus it is probably safe to use for those with auto-immune disorders.

In nutritional pharmacology, turmeric/curcumin has been known as a very strong anti-inflammatory for some time.
It has been used for that purpose as well as to facilitate the healing of soft tissue, organ and muscle damage due to disease or injury. Body builders and athletes use it to control the inflammation from excessive muscular exercise and it seems to assist in helping to build muscle by decreasing post exercise recovery time.

Turmeric on it's own it's poorly absorbed. Piperine in black pepper makes it far more bioavailable, so adding pepper to curry dishes makes the curcumin in turmeric easier to absorb. Piperine is also sold by a number of companies as a supplement called bioperine, which is inexpensive, but not always that easy to find.
Nutritional pharmacologists, naturopaths and some health food stores carry supplements that combine turmeric/ curcumin and piperine for use as a nutritional support for the treatment of inflammation. This is often a better choice for those with sensitive digestion or indigestion who may wish to try curcumin supplementation.

Turmeric/ curcumin also helps prevent beta-amyloid formation, the plaque that builds up in the brain in Alzheimer's. It might help with preventing sclerosis from MS as well but I can't find any research on that; probably because there isn't any...yet.

It it interesting that the recent study on this topic notes that Vitamin D also increases the levels of CAMP, which in turn would theoretically have a similar effect as curcumin. This is potentially good news for those who have inflammation disorders and would prefer to supplement with Vitamin D.

Erika


Here's the recent article from the Associated Press:

A spice used in curry dishes helps to prevent infection and now scientists think they've got a lead on how.

Curcumin is a compound found in turmeric, a flavourful, orange and yellow spice that is a key ingredient in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. The spice has also been used in India's traditional Ayurvedic remedies for 2,500 years.

Now American and Danish scientists have found curcumin increases levels of a protein called CAMP that helps the immune system to fight off bacteria, viruses and fungi the first time they try to attack.

CAMP is the only known antimicrobial of its type in humans, researchers say.
"This research points to a new avenue for regulating CAMP gene expression," said Adrian Gombart, an associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the Linus Pauling Institute in Cornvallis, Ore.

"It's interesting and somewhat surprising that curcumin can do that, and could provide another tool to develop medical therapies," he added in a release.

In Friday's issue of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Gombart and his colleagues said curcumin caused levels of CAMP to almost triple in laboratory experiments on human cells.

Vitamin D also increases levels of CAMP but high amounts of the vitamin can lead to more calcium being released into the blood. That's one reason researchers are testing other natural alternatives like curcumin.

CAMP seems to kill a broad range of bacteria including those that cause tuberculosis and also seems to protect against the development of sepsis, a serious body-wide response to infection that patients often acquire while being treated in hospital.

Earlier this month, researchers in England announced the first human trials testing curcumin to fight cancer. They hope it will increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy while reducing side-effects.

"We've shown that [curcumin] has well over 100 mechanisms of damaging cancer cells, particularly colon cancer cells," Professor Will Stewart from England's University of Leicester told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"One of the major mechanisms is affecting the way that they grow blood vessels into themselves."