Overview: Curcumin 95™ (Jarrow) Each bottle, 60 capsules. Each capsule, 500 mg turmeric extract (95% curcumin) in a base of brown rice. Curcumin 95™ is an 18:1 extract of the antioxidants found in the spice turmeric root. Curcumin 95™ contains 95% curcuminoids (including curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxy-curcumin) which are antioxidants. Turmeric in Latin is Curcuma longa. The roots of the plant are stemlike.
PWHIV are taking 3 grams perday: 2 capsules 3 times per day always with food when attempting an antiviral dose. Lower doses (1-2 grams per day) are used when using curcumin in a broad-spectrum antioxidant protocol. The higher dose may cause GI distress and gas in some. Start with a lower dose and work your way up over a week or so.

Curcumin (Turmeric; Curcuma longa) A Search Alliance (now AIDS ReSearch Alliance) study of curcumin found a significant reduction inviral load on 18 PWHIV over 20 weeks. Overall, the viral load results were variable. The average T cell count was around 100. As the late and marvelous Greg Haas reported in the 1994 edition of The Common Factor (from the Committee of Ten Thousand, referring to people like Greg who acquired HIV from tainted Factor VIII used to treat hemophilia), the group took three 285 mg capsules three times a day.Two of the 19 stopped taking study medication due to gastrointestinal side effects. Overall viral load declines from 1-2 logs was observed in the majority of participants, however, it may have been that these benefits were not sustained due to many receiving flushots that caused spikes in viral load. This compound works against a part of HIV called the long terminal repeat (LTR) which was the basis for a couple of small clinical studies to evaluate its antiviral effect. Curcumin has been known to be apotent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant used in Ayurvedic (Indian) medicine for several thousand years. The work at Harvard University showed it to inhibit HIV's incorporation into cells, as well as viral activity in already infected cells (virus that has already been incorporated into cells and is actively replicating). A study conducted by the New England CRIA found no effect using a low or high dose on viral load. This study, however, was conducted for only 8 weeks, which may not have been long enough to see effects. There was a slight rise in CD4 count in the high dose group. High dose was four caps taken four times a day, low dose was three caps taken three times a day. These studies are reviewed in AIDS Treatment News #242 of March 1, 1996. While we don't know if the way they suppress HIV is similar, it may be noted that SPV-30's effects also take 4-6 months before they are seen. This may be true of various therapies that either rely on reregulating cellular function or inhibit latent HIV as opposed to preventing cells from being infected. Results of the Search Alliance curcumin study lasted five months and indicated benefit developed only after about three months. But, like SPV-30 studies, used alone, curcumin is not all that powerful in terms of fighting HIV. But then, AZT used alone isn't that good, either.

Caution: Due to curcumin's effect on inhibiting platelet aggregation, some people may notice a loss of platelets. One DAAIR member experienced this: if your platelet level drops, stop the curcumin.

Background: Turmeric is derived from the turmeric spice and is a powerful free radical-fighting antioxidant. Curcumin is a naturally occurring yellow pigment and the active constituent of turmeric. Curcumin has been shown to have a wide range of health benefits, including supporting digestion, circulation and inflammation relief. NSI’s standardized turmeric is a technically advanced herbal extract standardized to 95% curcuminoids. This is the highest concentration of curcuminoids available.

The modest ginger root, curcumin, is demonstrating in the lab exactly why traditional healers have used it for thousands of years.
Curcumin, an ancient spice in the ginger family, also known as turmeric root, is gaining plenty of attention for its positive impact on a number of ailments. It is shining as an antioxidant, for example, as well as for its beneficial effects in prohibiting tumors, for its anti-inflammatory properties, and even for its ability to retard some of the progress of the virus that causes AIDS.

This sounds like a lot of claims for a seemingly unpretentious kitchen spice. But, in fact, curcumin's use dates back to the time of Egyptian pharaohs and Indian rajas more than 6,000 years ago. A tall, stemless, perennial plant cultivated throughout the tropics, especially in India, China and Indonesia, turmeric is what gives curry its unique flavor and color but in addition to its kitchen uses, curcumin has been used by traditional medicine for liver disease (particularly jaundice), indigestion, urinary tract diseases, blood purification, inflamed joints (rheumatoid arthritis), insect bites, dermatological disorders and as an atherosclerosis preventative. Although the chemical structure of curcumin was determined in 1910, it was only during the mid 1970s and 1980s that the potential uses of curcuminoids in medicine began to be extensively studied.