Essay On Tumeric

4.0 COMMON HEPATOPROTECTIVE FOOD OR FRUITS

Some of the plants commonly consumed as food are rich in phytochemicals and nutrient that boost the hepatoprotective ability of such plants. Different parts of these plants such as the fruit, seed, stem or root may be consumed as food. Thus consumption of these food plants rich in the necessary phytochemical and nutrients offers additional medicinal advantage apart from normal consumption as food due to taste, tolerability and ability to supply the needed energy for the body.

Garlic has been found to possess important dietary and medicinal role for centuries. Most of its therapeutic properties are due to the specific oil and water soluble organosulfur compounds present. There are a variety of antioxidants

It has a peppery, warm and bitter flavor. It is best known as one of the ingredients used to make “curry” a food condiment. Tumeric has been used in India and Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments. The main bioactive compound isolated from turmeric is a yellow color pigment known as curcumin. Curcumin exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidative, and free radical scavenging activity. Tumeric increase detoxification system in addition to its antioxidant properties in the liver. In vitro as well as in vivo animal studies indicate the hepatoprotective effect of curcumin in case of different hepatotoxic stresses caused due to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), paracetamol, pentobarbital, galactosamine and 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene. It also exhibits chemopreventive effect against hepatocarcinogenesis. Bae et al. (2006) showed that curcumin possess antiproliferative, antiinvasive, and proapoptotic activity in different hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-derived cell lines.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is one of the most important herbs used as a spice and flavoring agent. Coriander fruit is mostly present in all kinds of mixed spices used in India and other Asian countries. The fresh leaves and the dry seeds are the part most traditionally used in cooking. Coriander seeds promote the hepatic antioxidant system. Hepatoprotective activity of essential oil of coriander has been studied in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rat. Samojlik et al. (2010) showed significant free radical scavenging activity and improved production of different antioxidative