Turmeric finds application in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicines, from treating skin disorders to addressing upper respiratory tract problems, joint issues and digestive system concerns.
Although turmeric is utilized in various parts of the world for treating indigestion, its advantages compared to traditional drugs remain understudied. In a recent study, researchers provided scientific evidence for its efficacy in alleviating indigestion and showed its comparable effectiveness to that of antacids.
Within the study, published within the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, researchers compared using turmeric against the standard antacid drug omeprazole – a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) used to treat functional dyspepsia. They found turmeric was as effective because the drug in treating indigestion symptoms.
Functional dyspepsia is a digestive disorder that causes a burning sensation within the stomach, bloating, excessive belching and nausea. Patients are often advisable to make behavioral and food plan modifications and use over-the-counter drugs for relief.
The study included 206 adults below the age of 70 who were admitted to varied hospitals in Thailand with functional dyspepsia. They were assigned to considered one of three treatment groups.
The primary group of 69 patients was given two large 250 mg capsules of curcumin (bioactive substance in turmeric) 4 times a day and a dummy capsule; the subsequent group of 68 patients was given omeprazole 20 mg capsule every day and two dummy capsules 4 times a day. The ultimate group was given turmeric, in addition to omeprazole.
Firstly of the trial, all participants had similar clinical characteristics and indigestion scores measured by the Severity of Dyspepsia Assessment rating (SODA). The patients were assessed again after 28 and 56 days.
“SODA scores indicated significant reductions in symptom severity by day 28 for pain (−4.83, –5.46 and −6.22) and other symptoms (−2.22, –2.32, and −2.31) for those within the combined, curcumin alone, and omeprazole alone groups, respectively. These improvements were even stronger after 56 days for pain (−7.19, –8.07, and −8.85, respectively) and other symptoms (−4.09, –4.12, and −3.71, respectively),” researchers said in a news release.
They hope the “multi-center randomized controlled trial provides highly reliable evidence for the treatment of functional dyspepsia” and their findings may pave the best way for using turmeric in clinical practice.
Published by Medicaldaily.com