Curcumin reduces adipose tissue formation in mice

The May, 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition reported the discovery of researchers at Tufts University in Boston of a reduction in the formation of adipose (fat) tissue and the blood vessels that feed it in mice given high fat diets supplemented with curcumin, the major polyphenol in the spice turmeric.

In their introduction to the article, Mohsen Meydani and colleagues at Tufts' Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging explain that "the growth and expansion of adipose tissues, similar to the growth of cancerous tumors, requires recruitment of new blood vessels or angiogenesis. In adipose tissue, this is mediated by adipose tissue secretion of adipokines, including leptin, adiponectin, resistin, visfatin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, interleukin-1, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Therefore, in addition to reducing energy intake, the inhibition of angiogenesis in adipose tissue can be a strategy to prevent adipose tissue growth and obesity." Continue Reading