This compound in turmeric, called “curcumin”, can prevent Transmissible gastroenteritis virus, an alpha-group coronavirus that infects pigs, from infecting cells, said a study.
Aficionados of Indian food already know about the medicinal properties of turmeric. Now researchers have found that a natural compound found in this commonly used spice could help eliminate certain viruses.
This compound in turmeric, called “curcumin”, can prevent Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) — an alpha-group coronavirus that infects pigs — from infecting cells, said the study published in the Journal of General Virology.
There are currently no approved treatments for alpha-coronaviruses and although there is a vaccine for TGEV, it is not effective in preventing the spread of the virus.
To determine the potential antiviral properties of curcumin, the research team treated experimental cells with various concentrations of the compound, before attempting to infect them with TGEV.
They found that higher concentrations of curcumin reduced the number of virus particles in the cell culture.
Curcumin has been shown to inhibit the replication of some types of virus, including dengue virus, hepatitis B and Zika virus.
The compound has also been found to have a number of significant biological effects, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities.
Curcumin was chosen for this research due to having low side effects according to Xie.
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