Synthetic Curcumin?

Well I was looking on wikileaks and I was interested in finding some trials or information on Curcumin. I ended up referencing one study listed under ClinicalTrials.gov. Trial Number NCT00094445. I would have included a link but I was using the Tor Browser..anyway I noticed that the collaborator for the study was Sabinsa Corporation and it was carried out by the MD Anderson Cancer Center back in 2004.

A little more research into the company and I read the following;

"Bangalore, India (June 01, 2015) – As the opening salvo in a campaign against adulteration of Curcumin, Sabinsa Corp has filed criminal complaint against Bayir Extracts Private Limited, Bangalore, India for knowingly supplying adulterated Turmeric Oleoresin with a forged Certificate of Analysis. The filed court papers from Sabinsa and its sister company Sami Labs are requesting a Cease and Investigation into this matter.

......

FDA views synthetic versions of natural botanical compounds to be different from the botanical itself, thus a supplier of such material would be required to file an NDI notification with FDA, including proof of safety, for the products to be legally sold in the US.

According to Sabinsa founder Dr. Muhammed Majeed some American companies either unknowingly or with the intention of saving money buy these cheaper synthetic materials labeled as natural products. He went on to explain that the natural product may have distinctively different pharmacological activities compared to synthetically made Curcuminoid composition.

As the industry gets more serious about quality issues, identifying synthetic versions of herbal products becomes crucial. The obvious question is “what was it synthesized from? What chemicals were used, and in what process? How do you know it is safe for consumption by humans?” If a company is selling synthetic Curcumin, and not identifying that some or all of it was synthetically derived, that lack of transparency is not only misleading consumers who think they are taking a product derived from turmeric root, but has the potential to hurt people."

I guess this is a courtesy heads up for folks like myself that take curcumin...even though the company may be under the impression that the curcumin is legit it does not necessarily mean it is...this is really too bad but like most things people will often go the cheap route to get the most money. The trail incidentally was for 6 months to study the effects of curumin or what most call it Tumeric for patients with pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately they have not published the results despite being updated in 2014..

Not the sexiest or best written post but worth knowing some info on this controversial spice..
Link

Worth talking about.. You should see the madness here in Colombia..where if you walk into a so called "health food" store, youll find virtually all the products to be synthetically made or straight up fake.. In grocery stores too, the amount of processed products that are completely fake is astounding. For example if you buy a jar of honey here, what youre actually buying is coloured corn syrup. A shaker of pepper is actually 80% flour. Brown sugar is colored white sugar. Apple cider vinegar is colored and art. flavored white vinegar. I could go on and on..... most Colombians dont have a clue...

you really have to search and be careful what you eat...wherever you live..

Curcumin is not that expensive, why would anyone go through the expense of making synthetic curcumin? That is where chemists have bsed people into believing a lie. Just refine the real stuff and stick it into a capsule or bottle.

That is almost as bad as fake eggs in China. It can't be much cheaper to make a fake egg than growing chickens to make eggs.

a reply to: chrismarco

Just checked my bottle of Spring Valley says product of India. Would like to see a list of brands using this synthetic version and potential dangers. Makes me suspect all of my Spring Valley products. Ffffing Wall Mart.

originally posted by: rickymouse

Curcumin is not that expensive, why would anyone go through the expense of making synthetic curcumin?

So they can patent it, which they can't do with curcumin itself.

originally posted by: VigiliaProcuratio

originally posted by: rickymouse

Curcumin is not that expensive, why would anyone go through the expense of making synthetic curcumin?

So they can patent it, which they can't do with curcumin itself.

Yeah, I can see that. It appears they forgot to inform people that they were putting it in the supplements though, I suppose that was done so in the future they will have evidence that it is safe since there is no proof that anyone got sick from a synthetic ingredient. Maybe they got sick and did not understand why so never thought of the supplement doing it and blame it on other things.

Actually Cyanocobalamin is syntheric and so is Folic Acid, both of those supplements are problematic to some people. So they stick it in the flour and cereals and make ten percent of the people so they can't eat them without having long term health problems evolve.

a reply to: rickymouse

Well, anything which requires FDA approval will have to go through the usual stages of testing. That will certainly cost a lot of money which would indeed seem like a waste since turmeric is probably as good in its natural form. However, if from their trials they present the FDA with data that suggests little to no side-effects which would be of concern, then they will be able to patent and market their drug, eventually recovering the initial costs and moving into big profit.

Personally, my opinion is that this is nothing but a money-grab by BigPharma as I can't see how a synthetic version would be any more beneficial than its natural form. Either way, I certainly wouldn't put the synthetic stuff in my curries.

originally posted by: VigiliaProcuratio
a reply to: rickymouse

Well, anything which requires FDA approval will have to go through the usual stages of testing. That will certainly cost a lot of money which would indeed seem like a waste since turmeric is probably as good in its natural form. However, if from their trials they present the FDA with data that suggests little to no side-effects which would be of concern, then they will be able to patent and market their drug, eventually recovering the initial costs and moving into big profit.

Personally, my opinion is that this is nothing but a money-grab by BigPharma as I can't see how a synthetic version would be any more beneficial than its natural form. Either way, I certainly wouldn't put the synthetic stuff in my curries.

Well, let me see, when they altered yeast to rise quicker to quicken breadmaking, the FDA said that yeast is yeast so no testing needed to be done. When cyanocobalamin required modified yeast to be created, no testing was done to check if it was safe, they had no way of doing it properly back then. Same with folic acid. If it took down Homocysteine, it was considered safe even though the other methyl cycles were not working correctly, now they do not recommend too much folic acid, the synthetic version, for pregnant woman without testing to see if it is being used by the body in the right way and being excreted properly. Not much testing was done to test long term safety on that either. Most chemicals do not go through long term testing to see if they interfere with metabolism. I think the FDA should hire more scientists to verify some of the BS manufactures are stating about things.

I have read a bunch of the regulations, I understand they cannot test everything, but I see that they test hardly anything, they require an insurance policy and evidence from the company to show it is not a problem with certain things. There is a lot of ignorance in that, companies do not test for most things and interactions with other chemistries out there.

Europe is at least reassessing these things and banning a lot of things. The Food regulation Officials here scoff at Europe.s scientists and try to say they are doing things wrong because our regulating agencies know it is safe because no accepted testing by them shows to the contrary. Our governments food regulation agencies are always right even if they do not test anything.

You are right though, why use a synthetic chemistry when a real chemistry is available at a reasonable price. But the Food and drug administration does not test many supplements, these companies can get away with putting it in a pill. I like curry in some foods, but I do not use it often. I do like turmeric, it is in mustard and it does take away cramps in my legs and back. I guess French did us a favor.