C. Diff No Match for Cheap Spice

By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: October 19, 2010 Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner SAN ANTONIO -- A component of the inexpensive curry spice turmeric may help ward off infection withClostridium difficile in hospitals, researchers said here. Curcumin -- the active ingredient in the spice turmeric -- inhibited the growth of various strains of C. difficile in vitro, according to Rattan Patel, MD, of Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues. "It's likely that daily use of turmeric in hospital settings, in food products like curry or soup, can potentially decrease the incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea," Patel said at the American College of Gastroenterology meeting./.../