Tag: oxidative damage

New research determined that Curcumin, the yellow pigment of turmeric (Curcuma longa), may provide significant benefit in preventing telomere shortening and may actually promote elongation of telomeres.

Although telomeres shorten with each cell division, dividing cells express telomerase, a protein complex that synthesizes and elongates telomeres. Researchers sought to determine if Curcumin could increase telomerase expression and thereby help preserve telomere length. To test their hypothesis, they chose to look at its effects on telomerase expression in brain cells exposed to beta-amyloid, a primary source of oxidative damage and brain cell death linked to Alzheimer’s.