Research in the Middle East into the Health Benefits of Curcumin.

The Middle East is known as the cradle of civilization. It was the crossroads of ancient empires and the birthplace of major world religions. Today, it is the center of many world issues due to economic, religious, and political reasons. Although it has lagged behind many other regions of the world in medicinal research, this has increased dramatically in recent years with increasing numbers of relevant publications. Much of this research has focused on increasing our understanding of the aging process and attempting to identify biomarkers and natural products to improve the human health span. This review provides a brief overview of the research conducted in the Middle East on the health benefits of curcumin, a phytochemical derived from the famous spice turmeric. These efforts have been mainly spearheaded by Iran.