Some thoughts on curcumin's bioavailability...
 

First, remember that the permeability of the BBB varies with one's environment, general health, stress load, etc. If we are looking for an absolute cutoff point we are doomed to fail because the playing field is fluid. Second, more is not necessarily better. Some studies have found that "x" grams has a certain effect but that "2x" grams has the opposite effect. And third, some researchers have suggested that the magic comes not from the turmeric but rather from its metabolites which may have much different properties.

I don't disagree with that. But if the optimal dosis is 10 mg but only 0.002 mg gets through the injured BBB, then you will have almost no results. Enough dosis has to pass the BBB to be effective.

Still, it doesn't say that you get enough metabolites in your brains to be effective. You might or you might not.

In fact, I read a bit more now and I do have the feeling that the normal curcumin probably isn't that effective for PD. If PD patients want to use curcumin effective, I think they should be taking the new curcumin compound they designed.

Maybe turmeric can pass through the intestinal nervous system
 

Turmeric/curcumin has been an important part of our diet the last couple of years because of all the amazing research and possibly hope it holds for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and cancers. The big question has been the blood brain barrier-at least for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. For cancers it seems that the turmeric/curcumin travels along the digestive system track and lands in the intestines, liver and hopefully other organs.

The research just posted from Rush University Medical Center hypothesizes that maybe Parkinson’s starts in the colon where they find alpha synuclein plaques in the nerves embedded in that system. If that is truly the case, then isn’t it possible that turmeric/curcumin can then be transferred from the intestines to those nerves which connect to the spinal cord and cortex without needing to pass through the blood brain barrier? My science background is very lacking so I am posing this question in the hopes of someone being able to answer this question.

Additionally Dr. Greg Cole, from UCLA, has done extensive research in India where he traveled trying to find answers to Alzheimer’s and turmeric. He stated that in autopsies of Indian men there was a slight yellowish cast to their brains (and youthful cortex cell densities) that was missing in British men. He hypothesized that this came from their turmeric diet. Additionally the Alzheimer’s rate in India is stated to be about a quarter of our rates and this is believed to be credited to turmeric. Kathrynne Holden, of Ask the Nutritionist, stated that Ayurvedic medicine has used turmeric for centuries. Of course there were no curcumin herbal supplements in their diets so it seems highly likely that turmeric was the effective agent.

i am on a curcumin supplement right now. i really dont know much about the negative effects - all i've read about are testimonials of how great it is because of its nano-tech thingy. has anyone tried this product called Genus Serum by X-Lab? please help.
thank you so much.

OK, I'll help.
 

I did a little looking and my advice is to stay away from that particular product. It smells like a MLM scam. Using the current currency rates they are trying to take you for about $ 100 for a small bottle. Go to a good health food store and look for NOW or Jarrow brands and let the Malaysian hucksters fleece someone else.

You have to be very carefull with these statements. I also read that people living in the north have higher probability of getting Parkinson because of lack of vitamine D (less sun). This could also explain why Indian men have less Parkinson than British.