A number of health benefits have been found from taking curcumin, which is contained in the spice turmeric.
Studies show that curcumin also has a positive effect on stroke and dementia. A study by the Cork Cancer Research Center shows that the ingredient "attacks" cancer cells in the throat, pharynx and esophagus.
Scientists are now testing the anti-tumor properties of the ingredient in people with colon cancer. Specialists from two hospitals in Leicester are monitoring the effects of taking curcumin along with chemotherapy drugs.
About 40,000 cases of colon cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year. In Bulgaria in 2010 5014 new cases were registered, the data show.
If the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body, patients' therapy usually involves a combination of three chemotherapy drugs, but half of the cases do not respond, the researchers said.
The experiment involved 40 people with colon cancer. The study compared the effects of taking curcumin tablets seven days before starting standard chemotherapy.
Curcumin is thought to increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy, which can help reduce drug doses as well as side effects, explains lead researcher Prof. William Steward.
The study is at an early stage, the results will be announced after the end of the experiment.