TOKYO
Theravalues, a leading Japan-based bio-medical venture firm, announced today that three clinical trials conducted by a group of researchers at the University of Tsukuba, discovered that regular intake of Theracurmin™, an enhanced form of curcumin that allows for greater absorption, has positive impact on central blood pressure, arterial compliance, and vascular endothelial function. Improvements in these functions highlight curcumin’s phenomenal power to alleviate and improve arterial stiffness for the postmenopausal women.
Three studies were conducted on 32 to 51 healthy postmenopausal women in Japan back in 2012. Past studies have shown that women after menopause experiences an increased risk of heart disease due to the withdrawal of natural estrogen, a hormone that is produced throughout pre-menopause term that prevents the production of bad cholesterol (LDL) while sustaining the level of good cholesterol (HDL). It is said that one out of four women over the age of 65 has some form of heart disease.
In the most recently conducted study, published in the March 2013 edition of ARTERY Research, The official journal of the Association for Research into Arterial Structure, and Physiology (ARTERY), the group led by Dr. Seiji Maeda, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences at the Center for Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance, University of Tsukuba, examined the arterial compliance of 51 healthy postmenopausal women. The women were divided into four groups: 12 taking placebo; 13 taking both placebo and aerobic exercise; 12 taking Theracurmin™ only; and 14 taking both Theracurmin™ and aerobic exercise. After an 8 week long trial, the group that performed aerobic exercise and took Theracurmin™ showed a significant improvement in the average carotid arterial compliance while that of the placebo group remained unchanged.
“The results of the trial were consistent with the two preceding pilot studies, which demonstrated the efficacy of curcumin on central arterial with hemodynamic and vascular endothelial functions of the postmenopausal women, respectively,” said Dr. Maeda. All the studies are “double-blind randomized placebo controlled” basis that provides with greater objectivity and credibility in the trials. “As Sir William Osler, a Canadian physician in the 19th century put it, ‘a man is as old as his arteries are,’ stiffness of the central arteries alone is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It is encouraging to find that curcumin intake accompanied by regular exercise improves the arterial stiffness by a significant level.”
Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from turmeric (Curcuma Longa L), is known to have a range of pharmacological properties, including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor properties. However, its low bioavailability due to low oral absorption has limited its clinical applicability. The submicron granularity and surface processing technology developed by Theravalues has succeeded in enhancing its body absorption by more than 27 times compared to that of conventional curcumin powder.
In November 2011, another research group unveiled the results of a 24-week long human clinical trial, which affirmed Theracurmin™’s efficacy in improving the symptoms of the left ventricular diastolic failure. Theracurmin™ is currently used in multiple clinical trials both in Japan and the U.S., including cancer at The University Hospital at Kyoto University and Alzheimer’s disease at the UCLA Longevity Center.
Tadashi Hashimoto, President of Theravalues, said, “In the globally ageing society, prevention of diseases caused by chronic inflammation becomes increasingly important as a posteriori medical treatment. I am excited to learn that Dr. Maeda’s group concluded that Theracurmin™ intake is effective in improving central arterial hemodynamics, vascular endothelial function, and arterial compliance for postmenopausal women. This shows yet another potential power of curcumin.”
(Note)
Three studies mentioned in this release are published in the following:
- “Effect on Endurance Exercise Training and Curcumin Intake on Central Arterial Hemodynamics in Post menopausal Women Pilot Study”, American Journal of Hypertension 25 (2012), June 2012
- “Curcumin ingestion and exercise training improve vascular endothelial function in postmenopausal women”, Nutrition Research 32 (2012), November 2012
- “Effects of curcumin intake and aerobic exercise training on arterial compliance in postmenopausal women”, Artery Research 7 (2013), February 2013
ABOUT THERAVALUES CORPORATION
Founded in 2007, Japan-based Theravalues Corporation strives to foster better physical and mental health to ensure a high-level of global customer satisfaction. Theravalues creates value through its innovative technologies, and development of foods, medicines and technological models that achieve and sustain wellness for all. To learn more, visit www.theravalues.com/english.
CONTACT
Theravalues, Japan
Masami Hasegawa, +81.3.3234.7677
mhasegawa@theravalues.com
