Bone is dynamic tissue that goes through regular three- to six-month buildup/breakdown cycles. Osteoclasts are special cells that break down and dissolve old bone. Once they’ve done their job, a team of cells called osteoblasts takes over to build new bone. This continuous cycle keeps the bones healthy and strong, and prevents them from becoming weak and breaking.
But as we age—and as women’s hormones become more unbalanced during the menopause transition—this cycle tends to fall out of balance. As a result, old bone sticks around for longer than it should because new bone isn’t being created fast enough to replace the old tissue. This, of course, leaves the bones vulnerable to fracture.
This condition has a name with which you are no doubt quite familiar—osteoporosis. Osteoporosis affects approximately 30 percent of postmenopausal women, making it a serious and major health threat.1
Emerging research, however, is showing promise in the stimulation of bone growth and suppression of bone breakdown using several compounds found in curcumin.2
Curcumin and Your Bones
Curcumin is the therapeutic compound in the Indian spice turmeric. It is best known for its anti-inflammatory properties and can be an effective natural therapy for many diseases associated with systemic inflammation, including arthritis, colitis, diabetes and heart disease.3 It even has great research behind it as an anti-cancer agent, particularly against breast, colon and pancreatic cancers.4-6
And now, this exciting research could add a whole new dimension to curcumin’s already impressive capabilities.
Using the molecular structure of curcumin as their basis, researchers synthesized the compounds EF31, ECMN909 and UBS109 in an effort to see what, if any, effect these compounds have on bone formation and resorption in vitro.
The UBS109 analogue showed the most potential to stimulate osteoblast (bone-building) activity. Researchers divided pre-osteoblastic cells into two in vitro groups—the first in the presence of UBS109 and the second in the absence of this compound. After 21 days, they discovered that the UBS109 potently enhanced the mineralization in the cells—meaning they actually witnessed bone growth.
This same UBS109 compound also activated the signaling mechanisms that tell the body to build more bone. According to researchers, this activity “may be important to stimulate osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization, a possible mechanism of action.” They did not witness this same effect with any of the other compounds. Moreover, UBS109 also suppressed osteoclastogenesis—the development of osteoclasts, the very cells that break down bone.
Spice It Up for Bone Health
While this study is a very preliminary look at the potential of curcumin compounds on bone growth, researchers noted in their conclusion that UBS109 “may have promise in the development into an anti-osteoporotic agent capable of promoting new bone formation while simultaneously reducing bone resorption.” They continued by saying that this compound may also be useful as a therapeutic tool in the prevention and treatment of osteolysis (active resorption of bone by osteoclasts).
Why is this important? Well, let’s take a look at bisphosphonates, the leading class of osteoporosis drugs on the market. These drugs work in the body by slowing the rate of bone loss by blocking the action of osteoclasts. Bisphosphonates don’t actually stimulate the growth of new bone at all; they just slow the loss. That may sound like hair splitting, but think about it.
Bisphosphonates basically encourage old, tired, damaged bone to linger way longer than Mother Nature intended. As a result, long-term use of bisphosphonates can actually increase your risk of fractures in unusual places. Worse yet, these fractures often take longer than normal to heal.7
If this new research on UBS109 makes any headway, we could be looking at a naturally derived therapy for osteoporosis that not only reduces osteoclast activity and bone resorption, but actually encourages new bone formation!
Again, there’s a long way to go in terms of research, but this is a good first step toward an effective, non-pharmaceutical treatment for osteoporosis, outside of the typical calcium/vitamin D recommendation.
In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to add curcumin to your diet, if not for its potential bone benefits, then for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
The easiest way to increase your intake of curcumin is to simply use more turmeric in your cooking or marinades. But if you don’t like the taste of turmeric, then you can easily find curcumin supplements in most health food stores or vitamin retailers.
References:
- Johnell O and Kanis JA. Osteoporos Int. 2006 Dec;17(12):1726-33.
- Yamaguchi M, et al. Integr Biol (Camb). 2012 Aug 23;4(8):905-13.
- Jungbauer A and Medjakovic S. Maturitas. 2012 Mar;71(3):227-39.
- Bayet-Robert M, et al. Cancer Biol Ther. 2010 Jan;9(1):8-14.
- Johnson JJ and Mukhtar H. Cancer Lett. 2007 Oct 8;255(2):170-81.
- Dhillon N, et al. Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Jul 15;14(14):4491-9.
- Ott S. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Mar;90(3):1897-9.
