Agencies/Chennai
Indian medical researchers say they have successfully tested a blend of curry spices that lower blood pressure in lab rats, raising hopes for a natural and affordable drug to treat the chronic disease.
S Thanikachalam, a cardiology expert who headed the research, said his team had tested a mixture of ginger, cardamom, cumin and pepper - common ingredients in Indian kitchens - along with white lotus petals and others on the rodents.
“We saw tremendous positive changes in rats induced with high blood pressure during our laboratory experiments,” said Thanikachalam, who heads the department of cardiology at Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai.
“The drug was very effective in reducing the blood pressure and bringing down oxidative stress in rats,” he said.
The study said the spices were successful at reducing renovascular hypertension, a secondary form of high blood pressure caused by a narrowing of the arteries in the kidneys.
Indians are genetically predisposed to hypertension with one in four people in cities suffering from the disorder, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Hypertension is mostly treated with modern pharmaceuticals but high costs and the possibility of side effects deter many from taking daily medication.
Thanikachalam said most heart patients he treated were obese, heavy smokers, or suffered from diabetes and hypertension. Many failed to take the prescribed medicines because they found them expensive, so he decided to develop a cheap alternative based on local ayurvedic cures.
The latest research is not the first time a curry ingredient has been associated with healthy benefits.
In February 2011, scientists released a study suggesting a new hybrid drug tested on animals, made in part from the chemical in the yellow spice turmeric, could help regenerate brain cells after a stroke.
Thanikachalam said the herbal treatment tried by his team, known as venthamarai chooranam, was a combination mentioned in ancient Indian literature.
“It’s been passed on from one generation to the other. It’s just that it’s not been validated scientifically,” he said.
“These spices are used in particular quantities in many parts of Tamil Nadu for treatment of blood pressure but there is no validation or scientific research,” he explained.
“During our research, we found tremendous results on lab rats. We will be continuing further observation on the animals before applying for clinical trials on humans. We have successfully tested it on rats, induced with the hypertension condition but the real objective is to work on chronic patients,” he added.
His goal is to develop the spices into drugs which will be affordable to India’s poor.
The results of the study were published in the June edition of the medical journal Experimental Biology and Medicine.
