Thiruvananthapuram based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology has received a US patent for its method of using curcumin, a compound found in turmeric, for treating cancer.
- Curcumin is known to have anti-cancer properties and it is delivered to the cancer site with the help of the easy to use wafer, which also aids clotting. Once applied, the wafer releases curcumin for long periods depending on the initial dose incorporated into the wafer.
- At the institute, research funded by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) focused on processing curcumin to form a stable and easy-to-use wafer configuration.
- When applied to body tissues, the curcumin present in the wafer is released into tissue fluids. Albumin, or rich proteins present in the fibrin clot produced from heavy bleeding, binds albumin receptors to cancer cells, thereby permitting its entry into the cells. Simultaneously, the fibrin clot is removed by the body’s natural clot breakdown mechanism without any adverse effect.
