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Miracle cures (mander.xyz)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

A spice used in Indian cuisine. It's intensely yellow due to curcumin, a compound that has miraculous property of causing false positives in about any cell assay (ie it seems like it does something, but really it decomposes/is fluorescent/damages cell wall/clumps up/pulls metal ions where they shouldn't be/forms hydrogen peroxide where it shouldn't be, all of which can look like some kind of activity when looking at cells, but it is not so)

Also it's completely insoluble in water and shredded by liver in minutes, so it's physically impossible for it to be active in vivo (can't do shit if it's not there). It's great for churning out bad science tho

It is used in ayurveda, and some proponents of ayurveda want to prove that it cures literally everything, and its behaviour in cell assays makes it seem so at least as long as you don't look too closely

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

I'd say it's worse than placebo, because it's known by now that nothing of that shit has any chance to work yet there are still clinical trials with it. This takes away resources from things that have a better shot at working which imo makes it pretty unethical

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (2 children)

calling it a spice feels generous, it's yellow food colouring powder.

sure technically it affects flavour but so does eating out of a different bowl..

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Turmeric root has some decent flavor, but the dried spice is pretty bland beyond its smell. Same with ginger or galangal.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I once severely misjudged the amount needed I'm some rice I made. I can assure you, it does have flavour.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

i mean you said it yourself, you need to use waaaaay more to taste anything.

in the quantities normally used it's just yellow powder.