{"id":27976,"date":"2015-10-28T12:42:06","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T16:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=27976"},"modified":"2016-06-11T12:22:01","modified_gmt":"2016-06-11T16:22:01","slug":"univ-lab-spin-off-developing-drug-from-turmeric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=27976","title":{"rendered":"Univ Lab, Spin-Off Developing Drug from Turmeric"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sliced turmeric roots (Bames24, Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

28 October 2015. A university biochemistry lab and spin-off enterprise developing drugs from plants are collaborating on a process for extracting a key ingredient for an anti-inflammatory compound from the common spice turmeric. The project, bringing together the lab of biochemistry professor David Gang<\/a> at Washington State University and Botanisol LLC<\/a> in Scottsdale, Arizona, is funded by a $225,000 grant from National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a part of National Institutes of Health. The first phase<\/a> of the project, with $149,000 in funding for one year, is underway.<\/p>\n

The initiative aims to devise an efficient process for extracting turmeric anti-inflammatory lipophilic compound x, or TAI-LCx<\/a>, a small molecule compound derived from turmeric, a spice in Indian cooking giving curries their distinctive flavor. Turmeric<\/a> is the basis for anti-inflammatory folk remedies found in Indian and Chinese cultures going back as far as 4,000 years.<\/p>\n

Botanisol was founded in 2012 to commercialize TAI-LCx, licensed from University of Arizona, where the initial research was done on the compound. In the lab, TAI-LCx was found effective acting against cell signaling proteins and prostaglandin<\/a>, a hormone-like chemical in the body that stimulate inflammation in diseases like arthritis. While many anti-inflammatory drugs are already on the market — from simple aspirin and ibuprofen to biologics like Humira or Enbrel — they generally work by blocking cyclooxygenase<\/a> or Cox enzymes that promote inflammation, but cause side-effects such as stomach irritation and more serious gastrointestinal problems in many individuals.<\/p>\n

TAI-LCx, says the company, works on different signaling pathways than Cox inhibitors, making it safer for many people that cannot take current anti-inflammatory drugs. To be commercially viable, however, the company needs to develop a more economical and environmentally-friendly process for extracting the compound from turmeric that can be expanded to commercial scale.<\/p>\n

The current process for extracting TAI-LCx in the lab uses organic solvents. A more efficient and solvent-free method, known as supercritical fluid extraction<\/a>, uses combinations of temperature and pressure with carbon dioxide to separate TAI-LCx from turmeric. The partnership between Botanisol and Washington State will explore the feasibility of\u00a0supercritical fluid extraction to extract and generate a purified compound.<\/p>\n

The collaboration also plans to better identify and understand the components of TAI-LCx, needed for further drug development. David Gang, who is also chief scientist<\/a> at Botanisol, will use research facilities at Washington State for these tasks, particularly the university’s Murdock Metabolomics Laboratory and Tissue Imaging and Proteomics Laboratory. “What we know about TAI-LCx is very encouraging,” says Gang in a university statement<\/a>. “With this grant, we’ll learn more about its structure and effect on different inflammatory pathways.”<\/p>\n

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